A Reliable Sounding Board: Parent Involvement in Students' Academic and Career Decision Making

Abstract

With concern over parental involvement in students' academic lives on the rise, research is needed to provide guidance for advisors and parents. In this article, student-parent interactions about academic and career decisions are examined. Data come from the Brown University Office of Institutional Research and semi-structured interviews with students at Brown University. In the interviews, students reported that they rely on their parents for general support and as a source of advice about academic and career decisions. These findings are consistent with institutional data and prior research. Analysis of the findings draws on attachment theory and on Baxter Magolda's self-authorship model of adult development. Implications for advising practice as well as suggestions for fostering constructive parent involvement are addressed.Relative Emphasis: research, theory, practice