Some contemporary mothers and adolescent daughters : the state of their union

This study represented an initial attempt to explore the relationship of some contemporary mothers and their adolescent daughters, and how they view themselves and each other within the context of that relationship. A questionnaire was formulated based on content which would be significant in examining, describing and understanding the mother/adolescent daughter relationship. Both the mother and daughter questionnaires sought to elicit responses first from the perspective of the respondents own feelings and then from the perspective of how they anticipated the other would respond to the identical statements. Twenty mothers and twenty daughters of a select sample of a select population were asked to participate. No specific mother/adolescent daughter studies appear to have been previously undertaken. Studies identifying concerns of adolescent girls are available but only limited sections could be used to compare with the results of this study. This descriptive investigation could not present a composite picture of all mother/adolescent daughter relationships; results were only specific to this sample. The mothers and daughters in this study appear to be communicating. They evidenced an awareness of themselves and an ability to anticipate some of each other's beliefs and attitudes. The daughters, in the majority, felt they were valued, respected, understood and dealt with honestly in their relationship with their mothers. For these mothers and adolescent daughters, the state of their union appears to be strong and vital.