Advisor

Johnson, Brian D., 1957-

Advisor

Rings, Jeffrey A.

Committee Member

Moore, Melanie, 1960-

Committee Member

Pugh, Kevin

Department

Counseling Psychology

Institution

University of Northern Colorado

Type of Resources

Text

Place of Publication

Greeley (Colo.)

Publisher

University of Northern Colorado

Date Created

8-1-2015

Genre

Thesis

Extent

234 pages

Digital Origin

Born digital

Description

Within American society, the Millennials have been recognized as exhibiting significantly greater entitled attitudes than prior generations. The focus has been on negative consequences mediated by psychological entitlement (PE) and its behavioral manifestations; however, the possible causes or contexts that might facilitate the development of PE are absent from the literature relating to this generation. One purpose of this study was to examine to what extent Millennials endorse entitled attitudes. The findings of this study did not support the contention that Millennials harbor high levels of entitlement. Data from this study contributes to both pedagogical dialogue concerning what entitlement means for this generation and expose a discrepancy between others’ observations of Millennials and their endorsement of entitled attitudes. This study illustrates the need for further research in the evolution of both the word “entitlement” and continued modification of its constructs. Further, by utilizing a series of multiple regressions, this study investigated Millennials’ perceptions of parenting styles, utilizing Baumrind’s parenting styles as well as experiences of helicopter parenting, personal feelings of PE, and the ways that these variables affect subjective well-being. This study affirmed prior research on the impact of Baumrind’s (1971, 1978) parenting styles as they relate to child and adolescent outcomes (Broderick & Blewitt, 2005). Authoritative parenting predicted greater subjective well-being. This study also found that increased helicopter parenting and permissive parenting predicted increased PE. Though it is too early in the research to draw conclusions regarding the impact of helicopter and permissive parenting as they pertain to PE and subjective well-being, continued research is warranted. Theoretical, research, and clinical implications are also discussed.

Degree type

PhD

Degree Name

Doctoral

Language

English

Local Identifiers

Dreiling_unco_0161D_10421

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by author.

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