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Feeling worse, feeling more overprotected: An experience sampling study among adolescents
Savannah Boele1, Anne Bülow1, Jolene van der Kaap-Deeder2
1Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Child Development
|April 13, 2026
Summary
Parental overprotection is linked to increased negative emotions in adolescents. While negative emotions can lead to more overprotection, the reverse is not always true, except for "unneeded help" which is linked to fear.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Adolescent Psychology
Background:
- Parental overprotection is frequently cited as a cause of increasing emotional difficulties in young people.
- However, empirical data on the daily mechanisms linking parental overprotection and adolescent emotional well-being is scarce.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the within-person associations between perceived parental overprotection and adolescent affect over a 7-day period.
- To explore the temporal dynamics and reciprocal relationships between different facets of overprotection and adolescent emotional states.
Main Methods:
- A 7-day Experience Sampling study involving 143 adolescents (aged 11-18).
- Participants provided real-time reports on perceived overprotection (intrusion, unnecessary worry, unneeded help) and their affective states.
- Preregistered Dynamic Structural Equation Models were utilized to analyze the data.
Main Results:
- A significant within-person association was found between perceived overprotection and negative affect, but not positive affect.
- Perceived overprotection was concurrently linked to higher levels of negative affect.
- Negative affect predicted subsequent increases in overprotection, with a reciprocal relationship observed between "unneeded help" and fear.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest that parental overprotection is directly associated with negative affect in adolescents.
- The study highlights a potential cycle where adolescent negative affect may elicit parental overprotection.
- Further research is needed to understand the specific conditions under which parental overprotection may be detrimental rather than beneficial for adolescent emotional health.
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