" (p. 420). A study conducted by Rekert et al. (2007) examined the following variables for 234 college students:

both mother and father care and overprotection, participant gender, family environment variables including conflict and control, adult attachment variables, attributional style and control-related cognitive variables, and symptoms of anxiety and depression.

The results of the study confirmed other studies' results regarding the impact of overprotection. As was found with the other studies, overprotection resulted in anxiety and depression among college students.

Discussion

This paper has shown the detrimental effects of overprotective parenting. Overprotective parenting results from a desire from parents trying to maintain psychological control their children. This may be a result of the parents own anxieties which creates worrisome parenting. Parents attempt to protect their children from experiencing stress. However, in this attempt parents are actually creating many harmful effects. These effects may begin prior to birth and be exhibited through pre-term birth, low birth weight and lower head circumference. These in turn lead to neurodevelopmental as well as emotional and behavioral impacts in childhood. This is exhibited by shyness and social anxiety as children, as well as loneliness, social anxiety and depression as adolescents. Eventually these detriments are carried into adulthood where studies have shown that young adults experience adjustment disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, and depression.

While parents may have the best intentions in attempting to protect their children from stress, they would actually benefit from experiencing the stress. According to Hortrum (1994), it is important to teach children how to cope with stress rather than protecting them from stress. Allowing children to deal with stressful situations helps them develop resiliency and coping strategies.

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