The Relationship between Perceived Helicopter Parenting Attitudes and Communication Skills of Nursing Students

Introduction: Individuals’ social, emotional, and cognitive skills develop through free experiences and independent interactions. However, helicopter parenting attitudes can prevent children from developing risk-taking, problem-solving, coping, and social skills and self-esteem by keeping them under constant supervision. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of perceived helicopter parenting on communication skills of nursing students. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 443 nursing students. Data were collected between November 2023 and April 2024 using the sociodemographic questionnaire, the Communication Skills Scale, and the Perceived Helicopter Parenting Attitudes Scale. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis H test, and Spearman correlation with SPSS 24.0.
Results: The mean score of Communication Skills Scale of nursing students was 95.97±13.71. On the Perceived Helicopter Parenting Attitudes Scale, the mean scores were 42.19±9.91 for the maternal dimension and 36.95±9.07 for the paternal dimension, with the maternal scores being statistically significantly higher. Furthermore, statistically significant weak negative correlation was found between the Communication Skills Scale scores and the basic trust subscale scores of the Perceived Helicopter Parenting Attitudes Scale (r=-0.101; p=0.037).
Discussion and Conclusion: The study determined that maternal helicopter parenting perceptions in the basic trust dimension adversely impact the communication skills of nursing students. These results underscore the critical importance of fostering communication skills during nursing education. It is essential to design and implement programs that enhance students' self-confidence and strengthen their communication abilities throughout the nursing education process.

Keywords: Attitudes; Communication skills; Helicopter parenting; Nursing students