Parent Involvement: Investigating the Parent-Child Relationship in Millennial College Students

There is evidence of a surge in parent involvement in postsecondary education, and some scholarship suggests that this high level of parent involvement may inhibit epistemological development. Despite these claims, there is little empirical evidence on the level or impact of parent involvement during the college years. The aim of this research was to understand the level and type of college student initiated parent involvement. Results suggest that, although the majority of participants did not involve their parents in decision making, many participants did, but the type of parent involvement ranged from confrontation to thinking about parental expectations. Epistemological orientation was not related to level of parent involvement but did predict type of parent involvement. Theoretical implications are discussed.