Interpersonal Relationship Between Mothers and Daughters, Article Review Example

By and large, the relationship between mothers and daughters in late life is characterized by both the negative and positive feelings. The research questions included in this study are as follows: between mothers and daughters, who registers both felt and expressed positive emotions to a higher degree? Who among daughters and mothers shows a high level of negative feelings? Does the positive feelings and behaviors of the mothers and daughters relate with each other? What is the interrelationship between responses to upset and the mothers’ and daughters’ emotions and behaviors?

Academicians concerned with matters relating to family have over the years drawn a lot of attention to this issue of interpersonal relationship between mothers and daughters in late life. This is geared towards establishing the extent to which these two groups of people perceive each other to be of significance in their lives (Bengtson & Roberts, 1991; Rossi & Rossi, 1990; Umber-son, 1992). Early studies have discovered that in late life, daughters and mothers showcase more closeness. Nonetheless, they still portray signs of undesirable feelings for each other (Barnett, 1988; Fin-german, 2001). The lacuna existing in this area of study concerns the fact most past researchers focused more on intergenerational ties and not interpersonal relations. Thus the studies used some techniques as self-reports to measure behaviors such as the incidences of contact between mothers and daughters. These findings therefore deserted the facet of emotions. This study aimed at filling the literature gap left by those past attempts.

The techniques used to collect data in this particular study were surveys and audiotapes.  Since the group of people to be studied was already defined, it meant that first of all, the type of sampling method to be used was purposive sampling (mothers and daughters were at their late life I.e. daughters being over 44 and mothers over 70 years and both of desirable health).There were forty eight pairs. Consequently, the participants in this study were mothers and daughters over the years stipulated above. Another criterion was that they had to reside within fifty miles of each other but not in the same household. had to reside The researchers in this study held sessions of interviews where they questioned the mothers and daughters of their reactions in regard to being upset with one another. The observation method was also used to examine the positive and negative behaviors of the two during the periods of interaction in the course of the sessions. The items in the tools of data collection were in this case very specific rather than general as it has been in past studies.

The researchers found out that daughters were unlikely to look after their mothers even though they lived that close with them. The two groups also enjoyed continuous contact with one another. In each week, a large number of the pairs (mother and daughter) visited each other or talked over the phone. This study also discovered that both the mothers and daughters were most likely to be positive about each other and display minimal negative behaviors (76% of women were rated low in all types of negative behaviors used in the study). However, intergenerational differences existed among them whereby the daughters recorded more positive feelings than their mothers. It was also found that the positive behaviors depicted by the two groups were associated with each other, but the negative ones did not relate.

Emotional attachment underlies the bond between mothers and daughters in late life. In turn, this has effects on the rest of the family members. The study found out that mothers and daughters related with a lot of positive repute and behaviors. It was warm and close. The mothers showcased high degree of positive emotions and low degree of negative emotions. The daughters on the other hand portrayed low levels of positive emotions in the presence of their mothers. The negative behaviors of both mothers and daughters were found to correlate with their negative emotions. It was again discovered that destructive responses from mothers correlated with their negative behavior towards their daughters while the destructive responses from the daughters positively associated with negative behaviors for their mothers. The research therefore disputed the use of open communication to solve interpersonal conflicts as earlier studies had suggested. Discussions between mothers and daughters are not common. It is important at the same time to understand that the association between explicit behaviors and destructive responses is not the same as was discovered by this current study. The patterns brought forth in this study can be of great benefit to the therapists in assisting the mothers and daughters to deal with their personal emotions and also in understanding the feelings of the other person.