As part of an ongoing project to investigate relationships between emerging adults and their parents, the current study sought to characterize the influence of parent-student contact on college student development in light of advances in communication technology. By tracking the form, frequency, and content of communication between college students and their parents, we investigated autonomy and self-regulatory development, each of which is central to reaching adulthood. Our study includes a student survey collected at the conclusion of the fall semester (n = 749). We found that students communicate with their parents an average of 22 times per week (m = 22.13) with parents initiating communication slightly more than students. High rates of student-initiated communication were related to lower emotional autonomy, higher rates of parental regulation of academics and behavior, and lower rates of student academic achievement.
