When Parents Step In: Adolescents’ Negative Affect Triggers Overparenting

Background. Popular media suggest that overparenting - excessive and developmentally inappropriate parental involvement – explains the increased anxiety in today’s youth. However, longitudinal evidence for this claim is limited, as most research relies on cross-sectional, group-level associations. To address this gap, the present study investigates the reciprocal, moment-to-moment dynamics between adolescent-perceived overparenting and adolescents' affect within families. Using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), we examine whether overparenting provides temporary comfort and elicits positive emotions or instead elicits negative emotions in adolescents, and whether parents engage in more overparenting when their adolescent experiences negative emotions.Methods. Over seven days, 143 adolescents (Mage = 15.8, range = 11-18, 64% girls, 92% Dutch or Belgian) completed experience sampling surveys five times per weekday and six times per weekend day. In each ESM survey, adolescents reported on perceived overparenting (i.e., interference, unnecessary worry, unneeded help) and their momentary positive (i.e., happy, joyful) and negative (i.e., angry, sad, fearful) affect. In total, 1,829 momentary observations were collected, averaging 10 observations per participant.Results. Preregistered Dynamic Structural Equation Models (DSEM) revealed that moment-to-moment fluctuations in overparenting and negative affect go hand in hand in everyday life. As expected, negative affect predicted more overparenting in the next moment (i.e., 3 hours later) on average. However, there was limited evidence that overparenting predicts subsequent adolescent affect, except for ‘unneeded help’ (a specific overparenting behavior) predicting an increase in adolescents’ fear. Conclusions. Adolescents’ negative affect appears to elicit more overparenting, offering a child-driven alternative explanation why overparenting is associated with more emotional problems in adolescents. However, parents’ providing unneeded help may specifically contribute to increased adolescent anxiety. By clearing obstacles and solving problems for their child, parents might unintentionally exacerbate negative emotions. Future research should explore individual-level, short-term family dynamics, as adolescent-parent interactions likely vary across families.