Young Adults' Relationship Satisfaction with Parents: The Effects of Overparenting and Relational Maintenance Behaviors Performed Via ICTs

Abstract

A growing body of scholarship finds that information communication technologies (ICTs) influence parent-young adult child relationships (Gentzler et al., 2011; Ramsey et al., 2013; Schon, 2014). Few studies have examined explanatory mechanisms for this relationship. Based on the Basic Psychological Needs Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000a) and the Cues-Filtered-In Perspective (Walther & Parks, 2002), this study examined perceptions of parents’ relational maintenance and overparenting as potential mediators of this relationship for three ICTs: voice calls, text messages, and Facebook. The results from a survey of 491 overparented young adults suggest that it is perceptions of behaviors performed through ICTs (perceptions of overparenting and parents’ relational maintenance) that best predict young adults’ relationship satisfaction. These results support other recent findings (e.g., Kelly et al., 2017) that suggest that overparenting has a positive influence in parent-young adult child relationships. These results also reaffirm the importance of relational maintenance for effective relational functioning.