Mothers and adolescent daughters: Implications for the growth of the mother

This is a phenomenological study which looks at the relationship between mothers and adolescent daughters in terms of its implications for the growth of the mother. A review of the literature indicates that many studies have addressed adolescent development and the significance of the mother-daughter relationship has also been explored. However, the focus of attention, until very recently, has remained child-centered or based upon clinical observations.; This dissertation addresses the natural experience of mothers of adolescent daughters. It focuses on the period of time before the child leaves home when the relationship is still being lived out on a daily basis. We observe a broadening of the child's world which brings about changes in behavior that call upon mothers to stretch and grow. Mothers are challenged to rethink how they are parenting, and to examine their assumptions about social values, identity issues, and what they ultimately trust. A closeness that had been present between mother and daughter since birth, is seen to give way to a new and more expansive form of intimate interconnection. This study contains a systematic exploration of the process of that change for mothers, and describes the transformation of intimacy as it relates to mothers' efforts and learning during this time. Close attention is paid to the experience and meanings expressed in the mothers' own words and use of language, particularly the language of metaphor.; The data were gathered using a short biographical questionnaire, and two open-ended interviews. They were then analyzed using an eight step phenomenological method based upon a system of research developed by Giorgi, 1975, and refined by Watkins, 1977. Glazer and Strauss's "grounded theory" approach was also referred to in building the hypothesis that certain conditions contribute to a transformation of intimacy in the relationship between mothers and their adolescent daughters. An outline of the process of such a transformation was generated by the mothers' narratives and grounded in the words of the mothers themselves. The findings of the study were then discussed in the light of constructive developmental psychological theories. It concludes with a critique of the support systems available to mothers within the broader community.