The relationship of levels of differentiation from the family of origin to the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship

The relationship of levels of differentiation from one's family of origin to the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship was investigated. In this study, 126 females between the ages of 23 and 50 were recruited from various local organizations to participate. To qualify for inclusion, the volunteers had to be married and have a mother-in-law in good general health. Participants completed the Personal Authority in the Family System Questionnaire (PAFS-Q), the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory (BLRI), and the Jourard Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (JSDQ). It was expected that there would be a positive correlation between daughters-in-law's scores on the four PAFS-Q subscales that measure differentiation and both the total scores on the BLRI and the JSDQ. This would indicate that as levels of differentiation increased, levels of relationship satisfaction and self-disclosure would increase. A multiple regression analysis was performed to test both hypotheses, however results failed to support the expectations.