Does Hovering Matter? The Effect of Helicopter Parenting on Adolescents’ Suicidal Ideation

Abstract

Since parents are the prime source of a child’s mental health development, the practice of inappropriate and impertinent parenting can lead to various psychological problems. Very few studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between parenting styles and suicidal ideation among Malaysian adolescents. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of helicopter parenting on adolescents suicidal ideation. The study also investigated the effect of ethnic and gender differences on the relationship between helicopter parenting and suicidal ideation. A sample of (n=183) adolescents (59 male, 124 female) were selected through the convenience sampling method. Data was collected using the helicopter parenting scale and the revised version of the Suicide Behaviour Questionnaire. The findings revealed that helicopter parenting is a significant predictor of suicidal ideation. The findings also demonstrated that Indian parents practise a higher level of helicopter parenting, followed by Malay and Chinese parents. Furthermore, the results indicate that suicidal ideation vary across genders and higher among Indian adolescents. The outcome of the study supports the proposition of Agnew’s General Strain Theory, which stated that strains resulting from the external environment such as parenting coercion leads to suicidal ideation among adolescents. Overall, the findings redound to the expansion of empirical evidence concerning the phenomenon of helicopter parenting and suicidal ideation.