Abstract
The purpose of this study is to compare the mother-/daughter-in-law relationship of Taiwanese daughters-in-law and Vietnamese daughters-in-law. For this research, 266 Vietnamese and 509 Taiwanese daughters-in-law were selected as the subjects. The results indicated that, when compared with their Taiwanese counterparts, Vietnamese daughters-in-law felt they had a significantly more positive relationship, due to the support and companionship of their mothers-in-law. On the other hand, Vietnamese daughters-in-law also recognized that their mothers-in-law had a more dominant role. In addition, daughters-in-law of families with a household income less than NTD 30,000 (around USD 1,000) and an educational level of middle school or less felt that their mothers-in-law were more dominate. The findings also showed that mothers-/daughters-in-law who never lived together had a less positive or negative relationship. However, contrary to expectations, when excluding factors such as the educational level of the daughter-in-law, family income and proximity valuables, the ethnicity of the daughter-in-law still made a significant difference in the support, companionship, and dominance of the relationship.
Highlights
In a Taiwanese family, the relationship between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law is very complicated and difficult to deal with (Hsu & Huang, 2006)
The frequency of proximity showed that 42% of Taiwanese daughters-in-law and 55% of Vietnamese daughters-in-law were living with their mothers-in-law
A 2 × 4 analysis of variance with repeated measure was conducted on the ethnicity of the mother-/daughter-in-law relationship
Summary
In a Taiwanese family, the relationship between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law is very complicated and difficult to deal with (Hsu & Huang, 2006). The daughters-in-law have the lowest ranking in the husband’s family, so they must obey, take care of, and show filial piety towards their mothers-in-law. Thanks in part to big changes in Taiwanese society, women receive a better education and have daughter-in-law status which is higher than in the past, especially for the more highly educated women. Cultural norms such as filial piety and respect for elders are still in place, the daughter-in-law is still expected to follow these norms and respect her mother-in-law (Kung, 1999). As a mark of respect and filial piety, the daughter-in-law should not question the mother-in-law’s decisions
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