Emerging adulthood represents a turning point in the parent-offspring relationship. Despite parents’ continued involvement during this developmental period, research on parenting during emerging adulthood is lacking. The present study used observational data obtained from recordings of 10-minute phone calls between 50 parent-emerging adult dyads discussing the upcoming transition from college in order to determine whether specific parent communication behaviors are predictive of psychological distress (i.e., depression) and career search self-efficacy. Parents’ use of contingent reframes was inversely related to general parenting support (i.e., warmth, autonomy support, alienation) and positively related to depression. In addition, parent reframes explained the incremental variance in depression over and above the variance explained by general parenting support. Career search self-efficacy was not significantly related to parenting support, parent communication, or depression.

These results suggest that specific parent communication behaviors could be a potential target for intervention as a means of conveying overall supportiveness and facilitating better adjustment outcomes. Limitations of the study are acknowledged and recommendations are made for future research and clinical applications.