The Relationship between Maternal Helicopter Parenting Style and Male Alcohol Abuse Disorder in Nairobi County

Helicopter parenting style is usually employed by mothers with their sons; resulting in anxiety, depression, crippling a child’s interpersonal development and decision-making ability, as well as their level of responsibility, accountability, and self-reliance. This contributes to, among others, the use or abuse of alcohol. The study examined: maternal communication, maternal monitoring, maternal over protectiveness and maternal control in relation to male alcohol abuse disorder. A sample size of 100 men aged 25-45 years was selected using purposive sampling technique. Questionnaires were used as data collection instruments and data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences [SPSS® version 25] software. The study revealed the existence of a positive and significant relationship between: maternal communication and male alcohol abuse disorder (r=0.427, p< 0.001), maternal monitoring and male alcohol abuse disorder (r=0.413, p< 0.001), and maternal control and male alcohol abuse disorder (r=0.828, p< 0.001). However, Maternal overprotectiveness was not significantly associated to male alcohol abuse disorder (r= 0.175, p= 0.101). On the other hand, regression results indicate that 75.1% of the changes in male alcohol abuse disorder variables could be attributed to the combined impact of the predictor variables. Based on the outcome of the study, the following recommendations are made: (1) Parenting classes to be encouraged as a way of raising psychologically healthy children. (2) The approach used in educating parents to be inclusive of helping them deal with their own unmet needs as mothers are likely to meet their needs for affection and acceptance as well as the need to be needed through their sons which leads to them becoming enablers of their sons’ negative behavior and also contributing to the lack of emotional maturity necessary for them to be responsible for their own lives.