Mother-daughter Relationship Quality Research Articles

Nonmedical prescription drug use among female adolescents: the relative influence of maternal factors, social norms, and perceptions of risk and availability

Increasing understanding of the risk and protective factors for adolescent nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) could inform prevention efforts. Several correlates have been identified, including parental factors, perceptions about use and accessibility, social norms, and age. However, these constructs have rarely been simultaneously examined using paired data from parents and adolescents. We aimed to examine the relative influence of these correlates among dyads (N = 349) of mothers and adolescent daughters. Using multiple logistic regression, daughters’ past NMUPD and inclination for future NMUPD were regressed onto descriptive norms for friend use, perceived drug accessibility and risk of harm from use, daughter age, mothers’ disapproval about use, mothers’ past NMUPD and inclination for future NMUPD, and the mother-daughter relationship quality. Akaike weights and lasso regressions were also estimated to evaluate the relative importance of each correlate. Higher descriptive norms for friend use, older age, and mothers’ inclination for NMUPD were risk factors for daughters’ NMUPD, while a closer mother-daughter relationship and mothers’ disapproving attitudes towards NMUPD were protective factors. The three analysis approaches were corroborative. Results suggest friend descriptive norms, mother-daughter relationship quality, and mothers’ attitudes about NMUPD are important prevention targets.

Relationships Among Emerging Adult Psychological Problems, Maltreatment, and Parental Psychopathology: Moderation by Parent-Child Relationship Quality.

Current research supports clear relationships between parental psychopathology, parental maltreatment, and emerging adult child psychopathology. Less research has examined how the role of the parent-child relationship influences these existing associations. The current study tested two models that examined the moderating effect of parent-child relationship quality on parental psychopathology and emerging adult mental health as well as the effect on parental maltreatment and emerging adult mental health. It was expected that high parent-child relationship quality would buffer against the negative effects of parental psychopathology and maltreatment while enhancing the effects of functional parenting characteristics. Participants included 1,452 emerging adults, predominantly Caucasian (73.3%) college students who completed surveys on their mental health, recent experienced maltreatment, and their parents' mental health problems. Results suggested lowest rates of mental health problems for emerging adults were associated with higher parent-child relationship quality and lower parental psychological problems, whereas negative outcomes were associated with higher parental psychopathology, regardless of parent-child relationship quality. Additionally, physical maltreatment was associated with lower rates of mental health concerns in the context of higher mother-daughter relationship quality. Results emphasize the continuing impact of the parent-child relationship, particularly the mother-daughter relationship, on emerging adults' mental health. Moreover, the current study demonstrates the continuing influence of parents on their emerging adult children.

Mother-Daughter Interpersonal Processes Underlying the Association Between Child Maltreatment and Adolescent Suicide Ideation.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether mother-daughter relationship quality and mother-daughter conflict represent mechanisms underlying the association between child maltreatment and adolescent passive or active suicide ideation. The sample included 164 socioeconomically disadvantaged depressed adolescent girls and their mothers (adolescents: mean age=14.00 years; 66.3% African-American, 21.3% white, 14.0% Latina). Structural equationmodeling was used to test three simultaneous and distinct mediating pathways linking child maltreatment to adolescent suicide ideation: (1) mother-daughter relationship quality, (2) mother-daughter conflict, and 3) adolescent depressive symptoms. Consistent with the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide (Joiner, Why people die by suicide, 2005, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA), both mother-daughter relationship quality and mother-daughter conflict mediated the effect of child maltreatment on adolescent suicide ideation, over and above the significant depressive symptoms mediational pathway. These findings advance our understanding of why individuals who experienced child maltreatment are at risk for suicide ideation and highlight the importance of relationship-based interventions for these vulnerable youths.

Impact of Mother-Daughter Relationship on Hypertension Self-management and Quality of Life: Testing Dyadic Dynamics Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.

Although hypertension (HTN) treatment rates are similar across age groups of women, effective control is significantly worse among older women. Only 20% of hypertensive women aged 70 to 79 years have controlled blood pressure. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to test the effects of the quality of mother-daughter relationship, inner strength, and control on HTN self-management and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for both members of the dyad at 6 months. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was used to examine the direct ("actor") and indirect ("partner") effects of 46 dyads. The mothers' perceived relationship quality with daughters directly impacted their own self-management of HTN and HRQOL while also indirectly affecting their daughters' self-management. Similarly, the daughters' perceived strength of their relationship with their mothers directly influenced their self-management and HRQOL and indirectly affected their mothers' self-management and HRQOL.

Mother–Daughter Relationship Quality and Body Image in Preadolescent Girls

Research suggests that mothers may play a role in girls’ body image development. The “interactive” hypothesis specifies that qualities of the mother–daughter relationship, as opposed to maternal modeling alone, predict daughter’s body image. We sought to understand how maternal relationship quality, from the perception of both daughters and mothers, was associated with preadolescent girls’ body image. The relationship between mother–daughter relationship quality and daughters’ body image was examined in 152 girls (ages 8–12) and their mothers. Mothers and daughters primarily identified as non-Hispanic white or Hispanic. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that daughters’ perception of mother–daughter relationship quality was associated with daughters’ body esteem and body dissatisfaction, adding a small, but significant, amount of variance above the larger effect of child z-BMI and age. In contrast, maternal perception of mother–daughter relationship quality was not associated with any child body image measures. Young girls who perceived their relationships with their mothers more positively had healthier body images. Although effect sizes were relatively small and the cross-sectional design precludes conclusions regarding causality, these results support the “interactive” model of body image development whereby the characteristics of the mother–daughter relationship (as perceived by the daughter) are related to body image. Our findings support the notion that daughters’ perceptions of strong mother–daughter relationships are associated with healthy child body image, and fall in line with family-based prevention efforts that attempt to enhance parent–child relationships.

Risky sexual behavior of foreign and native-born women in emerging adulthood: The long reach of mother-daughter relationships in adolescence

Parents’ influence on young adult sexual behavior receives little attention compared to influence on adolescent behavior. Yet effective parenting should have lasting effects. Even fewer studies examine parents’ influence on sexual behavior of both foreign and native-born young adults. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) Waves I (1994–95) and III (2001–02), we examine longitudinal associations among mother-daughter relationship quality and nativity during adolescence and young adults’ risky sexual behaviors of condom use at last intercourse, number of sexual partners, and STI diagnoses (N = 4460). Women, 18–26 years old, who had good mother-adolescent daughter relationships have fewer partners and STIs in the past year. Second generation women have worse mother-adolescent daughter relationships, compared to third generation. Relationship quality does not explain associations between nativity and risky behavior. Lasting associations between relationship quality and risk behaviors suggest that reproductive health interventions should enhance mother-adolescent relationships.

Maternal Attitudes/Relationship Quality and Daughter’s Receipt of Reproductive Health Care Services

Maternal Attitudes/Relationship Quality and Daughter’s Receipt of Reproductive Health Care Services

PARENT-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIPS AND DISORDERED EATING AMONG EMERGING ADULT WOMEN FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC

The associations between parent-daughter relationship characteristics and disordered eating behaviours among emerging adult women from the Czech Republic were examined. Participants (N = 798 women, M = 22.25 years old, SD = 1.42) reported disordered eating behaviours (dieting and unhealthy weight-control behaviours; UWCB), their relationship characteristics with each parent (trust, communication, alienation and psychological control) and covariates (weight, height, frequency of communication with parents, living status and parental statuses). Overall, 41% of women were on a diet, and 33% engaged in at least one UWCB. Logistic regression analyses revealed that none of the parent-daughter relationship characteristics had any association with dieting. However, a low quality of mother-daughter relationship (low trust, high alienation and psychological control) had a significant association with UWCB. None of the father-daughter relationship characteristics had a significant association with UWCB. The results suggest that preventive interventions with the family should emphasize the quality of the mother-daughter relationship.

Relationship Quality in Non-Cognitively Impaired Mother-Daughter Care Dyads: A Systematic Review.

More than 60 million Americans provide care to a family member; roughly two thirds are women providing care to aging mothers. Despite the protective nature of relationship quality, little attention has been given to its role in mother-daughter care dyads, particularly in mothers without cognitive impairment. A systematic appraisal of peer-reviewed, English language research was conducted. Nineteen articles met criteria. When relationship quality is positive, mother-daughter dyads enjoy rewards and mutuality, even when conflict occurs. Daughters grow more emotionally committed to mothers' over the care trajectory, despite increasing demands. Daughters' commitment deepens as mothers physically decline, and mothers remain engaged, emotional partners. When relationship quality is ambivalent or negative, burden, conflict, and blame conspire, creating a destructive cycle. Avenues for continuing study, including utilizing the dyad as the unit of analysis, troubled dyads, longitudinal assessment, and end of life context, are needed before interventions to improve mother-daughter relationship quality may be successfully implemented.

Coparenting profiles in the context of Mexican-origin teen pregnancy: links to mother-daughter relationship quality and adjustment.

The current study explored the multifaceted nature of the mother-adolescent coparental relationship with data from 167 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their own mothers at 10months post childbirth. Profiles of mother-adolescent coparenting were created with latent profile analysis using adolescents' reports of three dimensions of coparenting (communication, involvement, and conflict). Four profiles were identified: (a) Harmonious Coparents (equal involvement, high communication, low conflict); (b) Harmonious-Adolescent Primary (adolescent is more involved than mother, high communication, low conflict); (c) Conflictual Coparents (equal involvement, high communication, high conflict); and (d) Conflictual-Adolescent Primary (adolescent is more involved than mother, moderate communication, high conflict). Families characterized by high mother-daughter conflict and psychological control prior to childbirth were more likely to belong in the Conflictual Coparents profile. In addition, adolescents' and mothers' depressive symptoms and parenting efficacy after childbirth were linked to profile membership, such that the Harmonious-Adolescent Primary profile reported the most positive adjustment patterns, whereas profiles with high coparental conflict (i.e., Conflictual Coparenting and Conflictual-Adolescent Primary profiles) showed the least positive adjustment patterns. Discussion considers the applied implications of identifying precursors to healthy and problematic mother-daughter coparenting for families of adolescent mothers in the early years of parenting.

Jamaican Mothers’ Influences of Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Beliefs and Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to identify the ways in which urban Jamaican mothers influence their adolescent daughters' sexual beliefs and behaviors in order to incorporate them into the design of a family-based human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk reduction intervention program. Focus groups were conducted with 46 14- to 18-year-old adolescent girls and 30 mothers or female guardians of adolescent girls recruited from community-based organizations in and around Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica. Separate focus groups were held with mothers and daughters; each included 6 to 10 participants. Focus group sessions were scripted, led by teams that included trained Jamaican and American facilitators and note-takers, and audio-taped to ensure data accuracy. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Four major maternal influences were identified: mother-daughter relationship quality, mother-daughter sexual communication, monitoring or supervision, and maternal sexual role modeling. Mothers' and daughters' reports were consistent; both groups identified positive and negative influences within each category. Some maternal influences were positive and health promoting; others were negative and promoted unsafe sexual activity and risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. These influences were incorporated into the design of a culture-specific family-based HIV risk reduction intervention tailored to the needs of urban Jamaican adolescent girls and their mothers. In order to be effective, family-based HIV risk reduction interventions should be theory based and tailored to the target audience. The four maternal influences identified in this formative study were incorporated into the subsequent intervention design.

Family Structure, Mother–Daughter Relationship Quality, Race and Ethnicity, and Adolescent Girls' Health Risks

Using a sample of 7,114 adolescent girls (4,269 White, 1,707 African American, and 1,138 Hispanic) and biological mothers from Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examined how family structure, girls' perceptions of mother–daughter relationship quality, and race and ethnicity related to girls' health risks. In general, results indicate heightened risk for both precocious events and depressive symptoms for girls in mother–stepfather, single-mother, and nonresident mother families compared to mother–father families. However, significant two- and three-way interactions suggest that adolescent girls' health risks vary considerably based on the combination of family structure, mother–daughter relationship quality, and race and ethnicity.

Intergenerational Pathways Linking Childhood Sexual Abuse to HIV Risk Among Women

Childhood sexual abuse is prevalent among women, and it has been linked to a number of problems affecting women's health and functioning, including women's parenting practices. Another body of literature has linked specific maternal parenting practices—including mother–daughter sex communication, monitoring/knowledge about daughters' activities, mother–daughter relationship quality, attitudes toward sex, and modeling of sexual values—to daughters' HIV risk. This article reviews and links these two bodies of literature to indicate how mothers' histories of childhood sexual abuse may compromise their parenting practices, which may in turn impact daughters' HIV risk. We also build upon R. Malow, J. Devieux, and B. A. Lucenko's (2006) model of the associations between childhood sexual abuse and HIV risk to present a model indicating potential intergenerational pathways between childhood sexual abuse and HIV risk among women. The literature supporting this model and gaps in the literature are described.

Mothers' Discussions with Daughters Following Divorce

This study investigates how postdivorce maternal discussions with early adolescent daughters are related to mother-daughter relationships quality in the long-term. Employing individual interviews and self-report questionnaires, this was retrospectively assessed from the perspectives of 97 older adolescent and young adult daughters who experienced their parents' divorce during childhood. Participants reported on how frequently their mothers talked about a broad range of topics, and on variables assessing the emotional climate surrounding the discussions. Analyses revealed that the frequency of discussions was differentially linked to mother-daughter relationship quality, depending on the topic. The emotional climate of the talks predicted relationship quality, over and above the frequency for the most discussed topic areas. Results highlight the importance of including contextual variables in understanding the impact of post-divorce discussions on adolescents, and in guiding practitioners helping divorcing families achieve healthy outcomes.

Adult mother-daughter relationship and mother's psychological well-being

This study examined the relationship between the quality of a middle-aged mother's current relationship with her adult daughter and such indices of her well-being as depressive symptoms and self-definition. A cross-sectional sample of 231 middle-aged women with an adult daughter completed questionnaires. The results showed that middle-aged mothers with a married daughter felt closer to their daughter than did mothers with an unmarried daughter. The association between the quality of mother-daughter relationship and mother's psychological well-being changed, depending on whether the daughter was married or employed, and whether the mother was employed. Among the mothers who were not employed, with a married daughter, a positive mother-daughter relationship was associated with reports of high self-definition and lack of depressive symptoms while the mother's dependence on her daughter had a negative association with her psychological well-being.

Maternal influence on the sexual behavior of teen-age daughters.

449 girls in Detroit between the ages of 14 and 16 years, and their mothers were interviewed. Sampling took into account factors of race and social class. The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between the type of maternal involvement in the sexual socialization of daughters and the sexual behaviour of these girls during adolescence. Measures of early and current communication between mother and daughter regarding sexual issues were based on daughter's reports. Information regarding the mother's role as a supervisor of the daughter's social life was obtained from reports of the mothers. The 2 other major variables were quality of mother-daughter relationship (MDREL) measured by a 9-item summed index reflective of the daughter's assessment of the relationship; and the nonmarital sexual history of the mother as an indicator of the mother's role as a modeling agent. The criterion variable was the daughter's sexual behavior measured by whether or not she had ever had sexual intercourse (yes or no). 5 background variables (race, head of household, daughter's age, relative family income, and family religiosity) were also measured. After controlling for background variables, mother's presence as a role model was found to be significantly related to the sexual status of the daughter. MDREL was the strongest predictor of sexual experience, with a more favorable relationship corresponding to lack of sexual experience. Early and recent sexual communication and mother's supervisory role were not found to be significantly related to the criterion variable. Implications of these findings are discussed.