Volume 63, Issue 4 pp. 1964-1981
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Parent strategies to help emerging adults manage stress are associated with their mental health: A dyadic coping perspective

Melissa A. Lippold

Corresponding Author

Melissa A. Lippold

UNC School of Social Work, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Correspondence

Melissa A. Lippold, UNC School of Social Work, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 320 Pittsboro St CB #3550, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Email: [email protected]

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Michaeline Jensen

Michaeline Jensen

UNC-G Psychology Department, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

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Gregory E. Chase

Gregory E. Chase

UNC-G Psychology Department, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

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Kacey Wyman

Kacey Wyman

UNC School of Social Work, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

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Melissa R. Jenkins

Melissa R. Jenkins

Waisman Center, The University of Wisconsin at Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

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Somya Mohanty

Somya Mohanty

UNC-G Computer Science Department, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

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Guy Bodenmann

Guy Bodenmann

Department of Psychology, The University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

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First published: 26 March 2024
Citations: 1

Abstract

Emerging adults (EAs) are at high risk for mental health challenges and frequently reach out to their parents for support. Yet little is known about how parents help emerging adults manage and cope with daily stressors and which strategies help and which hinder EA mental health. In this cross-sectional pilot study of students at a 2- and 4-year college (ages 18–25, N = 680, mean age = 19.0), we extend models of dyadic coping from intimate relationships to the parent-emerging adult relationship and test whether six specific parent strategies to help emerging adults manage stress are associated with EA mental health. Emerging adults with parents who provided problem and emotion-focused supportive dyadic coping, delegated dyadic coping, and common/joint dyadic coping reported fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as higher levels of psychological well-being. In contrast, college-attending emerging adults who reported higher levels of parent-provided negative dyadic coping reported higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms and lower psychological well-being. Parent-emerging adult dyadic coping is a fruitful area for future research and intervention development.

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