Impact of Parental Involvement on Emerging Adults’ Career Outlook and Life Satisfaction*

Parental involvement effects on youth have been primarily investigated during adolescence and childhood. One such study found that home-based parental involvement affected seventh grade Israeli boys and girls positively, while parental volunteering was associated positively with only male academic achievement (Torren, 2013). In a sample of inner-city boys, absence of the biological father was linked to lower educational expectations in middle to late childhood (Cook et al., 1996). Furthermore, middle schoolers whose parents had low education-attainment were more likely to have educational aspirations that exceeded their expectations (Boxer et al., 2011). Parents expectations were significantly related to high-achieving African American youth\u27s motivation, beginning in seventh grade and continuing three years post-high school, specifically though youths\u27 perceptions of said expectations. These parental expectations were also associated with youth\u27s identity beliefs (Wood et al., 2011). Additionally, family support has been identified as a significant contributor to adolescent life satisfaction, which is directly linked to satisfaction with schooling (Siddall et al., 2013). Parent\u27s controlling behaviors were linked to diminished autonomy of college students, which may lead to depression (Schiffrin et al., 2014). On the other hand, students whose parents emphasize the importance of education through academic socialization had higher rates of achievement and lower rates of depression (Wang & Sheikh-Khalil, 2014). Overall, there is a lack of past research focusing on the impact of varying parental involvement on college students. Additionally, career outlook and life satisfaction have not previously been evaluated together. This study seeks to examine career outlook and life satisfaction in relation to parental involvement in college students. It is expected that parental involvement will significantly predict college student\u27s life satisfaction. Additionally, a curvilinear relationship is expected between parental involvement and student\u27s career outlook, suggesting that too much parental involvement has a negative impact. A three-part online survey is administered to southeastern college students for course credit. The first portion consists of demographic questions (e.g., age, gender, SES, classification in school, ethnicity, parental education, and community type). Parental involvement and career outlook are assessed in the second portion. Students are asked questions regarding educational and career goals, how likely they think it is that they will achieve these goals, and how involved their parents are in certain aspects of their academic lives. Questions are adopted from the Wave 5 Youth College Survey of the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study and modified for this study\u27s aims. The final section consists of Huebner\u27s (2001) Multidimensional Student\u27s Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS). Multiple regression analyses will be used to test whether parental involvement significantly predicts student\u27s overall life satisfaction and career outlook. Analyses of variance will be conducted to assess whether differences on these variables exist between genders, community types, and ages. Results have the potential to influence parent\u27s perspective on how to foster ambition in their adolescents, and they may help psychological professionals to identify college students at a higher risk for depression following their transition away from home. Data collection is ongoing, and results and implications will be discussed at the conference