Mother-daughter connection
Mother-Daughter Connection: Evaluating Familial Relationships and Their Influence on Female
Perceptions of Success
Abstract
The mother-daughter dyad is one of the most dynamic, and often most volatile, of the familial
relationships. The present study focuses on maternal involvement as one of the primary
determinants to a daughter’s perception of the achievement of success. Research indicates that
daughters desire a meaningful relationship with their mothers. If this relationship is open, intimate
and validating, the daughters tend to have an elevated self-perception and see them selves as
successful. Furthermore, the present study supports this research. Highly successful women and pre-
professional college-aged women were surveyed with the findings identifying a potential liaison
between daughters’ perceptions of the patterns of family communication that exist within their
mother-daughter dyad and the daughters’ perceptions of self, perceptions and definitions of success,
and the conflict management strategies they employ.
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