Adult Daughters' Perceptions of the Mother-Daughter Relationship: A Cross-Cultural

Comparison
Author(s): Mudita Rastogi and Karen S. Wampler
Source: Family Relations, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Jul., 1999), pp. 327-336
Published by: National Council on Family Relations
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/585643 .
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 Adult Daughters'Perceptionsof the Mother-Daughter
Relationship:A Cross-CulturalComparison*
Mudita Rastogi** and Karen S. Wampler

This study comparesthe perception of adult daughters' relationshipwith their mothersacross the EuropeanAmerican,Asian In-
dian American, and Mexican American cultures, using intergenerational,feminist object relations and attachment theories.
Threedimensionswere used to measure the relationships:closeness, reliability,and collectivism. Each dimensionwas measured
using two instruments:the AASand the MAD. The latter was developed to be sensitive to culturaldifferencesand includes a new
variable called trust in hierarchy.This variable representspositive beliefs about, and an acceptance of hierarchyin intergenera-
tional relationships.Theparticipantswere 91 womenfrom the threeethnicgroups. Cross-culturaldiferences in the adult daughter-
mother relationship were found, with the Asian Indian American group scoring higher than the EuropeanAmerican group on
many variables. Scoresfor the MexicanAmericangroup tended tofall between those of the other two groups.

T he mother-daughterrelationship is highly significant in and increasedcontentvalidityof the measure.The firsttwo dimen-

many cultures. The purpose of this study was to examine
the mother-adultdaughter relationship across the Euro-
pean American, Mexican American,and Asian IndianAmerican
cultures. This study is significant because: (a) no cross-cultural
researchon mother-daughterrelationshipsexists in the literature
and, (b) certainvariablesused in the study (connectedness,inter-
dependence, and trust in hierarchy)have not been measuredin
previous studies on family relationships.The three ethnic groups
were comparedon three key dimensions derived from intergen-
erational family therapy, feminist object relations, and attach-
ment theories. These dimensions of relationships (closeness,
reliability,and collectivism) were each measuredin two different
ways using both an existing and a new measure.These six vari-
ables included connectednessand closeness (underthe closeness
dimension), interdependenceand dependency (underthe dimen-
sion of reliability), and differentiation and trust in hierarchy
(underthe dimension of collectivism.).
Family professionals utilize theories, techniques and other
empirically derived generalizations in their work. However,
rarely do we know if the relationships between variables that
hold true for a certaingroup of people in the United States (e.g.,
EuropeanAmericanwomen) are universallygeneralizable.With-
out testing them across various cultural groups (e.g., Mexican
American and Asian Indian American women), the explanatory
power of theories and other generalizationsis severely restricted
and runs the risk of being ethnocentric.In utilizing the normsde-
veloped in one context to measurethe behaviorin anotherculture
we may draw erroneousconclusions if the two cultures are dis-
similar (Straus, 1969). Thus, comparativeresearch helps shape
our theories and tests the generalizabilityof knowledge derived
from hypothesestested in one context to otherdissimilarcontexts
(Lee & Haas, 1993).
Methodological Challenges
This preliminary cross-cultural investigation into mother-
daughterrelationships came with its own methodological chal-
lenges having to do with validity. These concerns are divided
into: (a) instrumentation,and (b) sampling.
Instrumentation.To ensure conceptual equivalence (Straus,
1969) of the constructsacross the three cultures certain precau-
tions were used. First, a new, culturallysensitive measurecalled
the Mother-AdultDaughter(MAD) questionnairewas developed.
This allowed the researchersto measurethe threekey dimensions
using culturallyrelevantitems. These items were developedusing
theory, cross-culturalliterature,and feedback from a pilot study
sions, closeness and reliability,(also see Collins & Read, 1990)
were firstmeasuredusing the MAD. For this, new culturallysensi-
tive variables"connectedness"and "interdependence" were devel-
oped. The two correspondingMAD subscales are sensitive to the
culturallydiversemannerin which daughtersreportconnectedness
and interdependencewith their mothers.Closeness and reliability
were measuredagainusing two subscalesof the Adult Attachment
Scale (AAS, Collins & Read, 1990), close and depend. Thus the
variables,connectednessand close, and interdependenceand de-
pend, are linkedby distincttermssubsumedunderthe dimensions
of closeness and reliability respectively. Another importantdi-
mensionof mother-daughter relationshipsinvolvescollectivism.A
subscale based on the new construct, trust in hierarchy, was
added to the MAD to measurethis dimension. Again, this was a
culturallysensitive way to measurecollectivism. A second instru-
ment used for this dimensionwas Level of Differentiationof Self
Scale (LDSS, Haber,1990) which measuresdifferentiation.
Second, open-endedquestions were employed to collate re-
sponses regardingmother-daughterrelationships in the partici-
pants' own words. These responses were coded and comparedto
the quantitative results. Similar qualitative and quantitative
responses were an indication that the MAD items producedre-
sults similarto whatthe participantssaid in theirown words.These
responseshelped check constructvalidity since the questionsin a
standardizedtest may be interpreteddifferentlyby personsfrom a
differentculture.
Third, the questionnaireasked the participantsto talk about
their"actual"relationshipwith theirmothersas well as their"ideal"
relationship.Both sets of scores were obtainedfor each variable.A
description of the "ideal" relationship represented what each
woman desiredor valued.Further,the groupmeans of the "ideal"
responsesrepresentedwhat thatculturalgroupvalued.This helped
ensurethatthe MAD itemswererelevantacrossdifferentcultures.
*This article is based on the doctoral dissertation of the first author, which was
chaired by the second author.The authorswould like to acknowledge the valuable input of
the dissertationcommittee membersand would also like to thankthe researchparticipantsin
this study. Portions of this research were presented at the AAMFT Annual Conference in
Baltimore,November 1995.
**Address correspondenceto: Mudita Rastogi, Illinois School of Professional Psy-
chology, 20 South ClarkStreet,Chicago, IL 60603; e-mail: mudita@msn.com
Key Words:attachment,cross-cultural,gender,intergenerational,mother-daughter
(FamilyRelations, 1999, 48, 327-336)

1999, Vol. 48, No. 3 327

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 Sampling.The Asian IndianAmericans,as a group,are idio-
syncraticin that the majorityof them were born in India, immi-
gratedto the U.S. since the ImmigrationAct of 1965 was passed,
and on averageare highly educated(Sheth, 1995). Most of these
women's motherslive in India.The threeethnic groupswere pre-
dicted to be inherentlydifferent from each other on key demo-
graphic factors such as length of stay in the U.S., geographical
distance from one's mother, education and income. Therefore,
matchingall participantson the first two factorswas not possible
within the scope of this study. Further,as Lee and Haas (1993)
point out, samples from differentculturesthat are similarto each
other may not be completely representativeof their own culture.
Due to the cross-culturalnatureof this study,concernsof external
validity had to be balanced with concerns for achieving some
comparabilitybetween the three ethnic groups. In orderto maxi-
mize the women's between groupdifferencesassociatedwith eth-
nicity, the researchers attempted to reduce variability of the
participantson the variableseducation and income. In addition,
in orderto minimizeany between groupdifferencesbased on lan-
guage comprehensiononly those women who were fluent in Eng-
lish were recruitedfor the study. Similarly,only women between
the ages of 25 and 35 were targeted.Findings of significantdif-
ference on dependentvariablescould then be reasonablyattrib-
uted to cultureafter statisticallytesting for the influence of other
extraneous variables. Though sampling did not achieve perfect
equivalenceon all extraneousvariables,the researcherswere able
to highlight significant differences in the mother-daughterrela-
tionship on the variablesstudied. Given the challenges relatedto
sampling and conceptualequivalence,it is importantto note that
a numberof hypotheseswere supported.
TheMother-DaughterRelationship
There is a lack of research that examines adult daughters'
perception of the mother-daughterrelationship across different
cultures(Boyd, 1989). Feministsidentifythis as a salientrelation-
ship (Chodorow, 1978) and one that can provide solidarity and
supportto all women (La Sorsa & Fodor, 1990). Researchshows
that the intensity of the adult daughter-motherbond, emotional
connection,and interdependenceare the highest in comparisonto
otherintergenerationalrelationships(Fischer,1991).
In addition to the lack of theoreticallybased cross-cultural
researchin this area, the mother-daughterrelationshiphas often
been discussed in negative terms (see Eichenbaum & Orbach,
1988; Friday, 1977). The currentstudy fills existing gaps by ex-
amining importantareas of strengthin this relationship.The hy-
potheses for the study were derived from theory and include
looking at both new variablesalong with those previouslyidenti-
fied as being important.
Severaltheoriescan be used to view the mother-daughter re-
lationship.Object-relationsfeminist theoristsbelieve that patriar-
chal influences lead to women being the primarycare-giversto
young children.Thus young girls experiencea connectednessand
lack of individuation in their relationship with their mothers
whereas boys eventually renounce their primarylove-object in
orderto identify with older males (Chodorow,1978). A woman's
own needs often go unrecognizedand unmet as she cares for oth-
ers. Over time, women will projecttheir neediness onto their in-
fant daughters.Thus girls grow up learningto decipherthe needs
of others (Eichenbaum& Orbach, 1988). While these theorists
identify significantvariablessuch as connectedness,dependence,
328
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and individuationin the mother-daughterrelationshiptheir argu-
ment is not backedup by quantitativeresearch.
Attachmenttheory(Bowlby, 1988) providesanotherapproach
to viewing the mother-daughterrelationship (Collins & Read,
1990; Goldberg,1991; Hazan& Shaver,1994b;Stevenson-Hinde,
1990). While in adulthoodone's mothermay not be the primary
attachmentfigure she continuesto be a significantattachmentfig-
ure for adultchildren(Collins & Read, 1990). These authorsused
the variablesunderlyingattachment,i.e., close, dependand anxiety
to study attachment.However none of their researchwas cross-
cultural.
In part,the currentstudy tests the generalizabilityof the the-
ories of Bowen (1972) and Williamson (1981) across different
cultures. It does so by empirically testing whether the relations
between differentiation,interdependence,and trust in hierarchy
predictedby the theoristsare upheldin othercultures.Intergener-
ational family therapywritings (Bowen, 1972; Kerr, 1981; Kerr
& Bowen, 1988) emphasize differentiation and autonomy as
being healthy, over dependence in family relationships.Bowen
argues that mother-daughterrelationshipsare significantbecause
they serve as the mode of transmission of family patterns of
closeness, enmeshment,distance,and conflict from generationto
generation. Bowen's theory has been criticized for overlooking
the impact of other social and economic systems on family func-
tioning (Walters, 1988), and devaluingthe feminine relationship
orientation(Knudson-Martin,1994). Williamson (1981) equates
healthy adultdevelopmentwith the stage of "terminationof hier-
archy"with one's parents.He arguesthat lower hierarchyand de-
pendence for an adult are relatedto greaterautonomy,closeness,
and intimacy. Both these theories pathologize cultures that em-
phasize more dependenceover autonomy.
Closeness. This dimension refers to a sense of connection
and intimacyin the relationshipbut is not restrictedto geographi-
cal proximitybetween the women (Arcana,1979; Eichenbaum&
Orbach, 1988; Silverstein, 1985). O'Connor (1990) studied a
sample of 60 workingand lower middle class women in London,
aged 20 to 42. While only 16 women named their motheras the
personthey felt "veryclose" to, these relationshipswere found to
include a great deal of support, attachment,positive feedback,
some dependencyand practicalhelp, low level of confiding, and
high visual contact. Geographicaldistance did not hinder close-
ness. O'Connorconcludedthat closeness is not linked to tending,
a view sharedby Thompsonand Walker(1984) and Walkerand
Thompson (1983). However, O'Connor'sstudy did not compare
the resultsby social class or ethnic group.
The last criticism is important because, as Boyd (1989)
pointedout, many culturesfoster closer mother-daughter relation-
ships. To some extent, this depends on the mother'spracticalim-
portanceto the daughter,the degreeof segregationby genderin the
society, and the living arrangementsin the family (Neisser, 1973).
This suggests that the very definition of closeness would also
varyby culture.This makesit importantto use culturallysensitive
measures.
Reliability.This dimensionrefersto knowingthatthe mother
or daughterwill be therefor you to dependon. It includesthe give
and take of relationships.Aid given and received in the mother-
daughter dyad has been a subject of research (Lang & Brody,
1983; Thompson & Walker,1984; Walker& Thompson, 1983).
These studies look at the link between dependencyand closeness.
The lattershowed that aid received and contactbetween mothers
Family Relations
and adult daughters did not necessarily reflect closeness. But
these studies did not look at the role culturalfactors play and do
not tie the findings to a majortheoreticalperspective.Once again,
one would expect significantdifferencesbetween culturesin the
areaof reliabilityin this relationship.
Collectivism.This dimension refers to the balance between
one's individualityand the needs of the group.It includesthe vari-
ables of differentiationand hierarchy.Few studies were found in
this literaturesearchwhich looked at mother-daughter issues from
a combined perspective of Bowlby's attachment theory and
Bowen or Williamson'sintergenerationaltheory.There seems to
be an obvious link in terms of an inverserelationbetween depen-
dency and differentiation/individuation. Kerr and Bowen (1988)
definedhigh differentiationwithin a family system in termsof low
dependence. Similarly,Williamson (1981) linked low individua-
tion to high levels of dependencein a relationship.These theorists
also argued for a connection between relatively low differentia-
tion/individuation, greater hierarchy, and greater dependence
within a family system. Thus, low differentiation,high depen-
dency, and greaterhierarchyare all consideredunhealthy.How-
ever, as Knudson-Martin(1994) and Walters(1988) pointed out,
women are expected to tend to relationships,but are considered
"mature"only when seen as differentiatedwithin their families.
However,accordingto previouslycited literature,a strongmother-
daughterattachmentmay be correlatedwith higher levels of ad-
justment. Bowen and Williamson's theoretical views have
significantimplicationsfor culturesthat encouragegreaterhierar-
chy and dependencyin the adult daughter-mother relationshipas
compared to the middle-class European American population.
This perspectiveis discussedat a laterpoint.
Davis and Jones (1992) used the Haber(1990) Level of Dif-
ferentiationof Self Scale (LDSS) to comparemothersand daugh-
ters on attachmentand differentiation.Findings showed that the
variableswere independentof each other,that is, a lower level of
attachmentwas not necessary in orderto develop a higher level
of differentiation.However,this study did not classify individuals
by attachmentstyle (e.g., secure, insecure, etc.); instead it rated
them on a scale where a higher score representedgreater inti-
macy and attachment.Moreover,the sample was limited to Euro-
pean Americanwomen.
Cross-CulturalVariationin Closeness and Reliability
Spiegel (1982) uses the work of Kluckhohnto describehow
one culture may value self-reliance and individualismwhile an-
other may encouragemore closeness, reliability,and collectivism
between parentsand children.Due to differencesin family norms
between culturalgroups, only througha comparisonof different
culturesand efforts to determineconceptualequivalencecan one
ascertainif a theory holds true for all people (i.e., is universally
applicable).
Closeness. Hazan and Shaver(1994a) proposethat since dif-
ferent culturesare likely to encouragedifferentdegrees of close-
ness in a given relationship in a certain developmental phase
attachmentis culturally embedded. For example, Kakar (1981)
wrote aboutthe primacyof the mother-sonbond in extendedfami-
lies in India and the emphasis of connectednessover separation.
Otherexpectationsinclude a "collectivistic"orientationfor family
members, (Dhruvarajan,1993; Naidoo & Davis, 1988; Segal,
1991) and less emphasis on self-direction (Stopes-Roe &
Cochrane,1990). In Hispanicfamilies,Uribe,LeVine,and LeVine
(1993), and Vega (1990), found that strong ties, geographical
1999, Vol. 48, No. 3
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closeness, and exchange of resourcesexisted within the extended
family. No studies were found dealing with the relationship of
mothersand their adult daughtersfor either Asian IndianAmeri-
can or MexicanAmericanfamilies.
Reliability.High levels of conformity,hierarchy,and interde-
pendence are fostered in the Asian Indian American family but
especially in females (Ewing, 1991; Segal, 1991). Individualsare
expected to be allocentric,that is make sacrifices for the good of
the family while maintaining strong family ties (Sprecher &
Chandak,1992). Bumiller (1990) also noted that marriedIndian
women were expected to shift some of their dependenceto their
husbandand his family, and rely on theirown parentsless.
Falicov (1982), and Uribe et al. (1993) found that Mexican
Americans valued greater amounts of dependence and collec-
tivism. However,Buriel (1993) and Delgado-Gaitan(1993) found
that autonomywas proportionalto acculturation.Diaz-Guerrero's
(1987) content analysis found that Mexican Americanvalues in-
clude affiliative obedience, fear of authority,and family honor,
which distinguishthem from the EuropeanAmericanculture.A
study involving EuropeanAmerican,Hispanic,and Asian Ameri-
can families by Julian, McKenry, and McKelvey (1994) found
differencesin parenting;EuropeanAmericanand Hispanicparents
placed more emphasis on "being independent"than did Asian
Americans.
No correspondingwork explicitly measures differentiation
and hierarchy.Studies mentioned above suggest that adults of
Asian Indian American and Mexican American origin are ex-
pected to defer to, seek advice from, and otherwise continue in
hierarchicalrelationshipswith theirparents.However,no research
measuresthis. This relationshipquality,i.e., the construct"trustin
hierarchy"(Rastogi, 1995) has not been studied cross-culturally.
(Thisconstructis describedin detaillater.)The valuingof hierarchy
also has implications for differentiationin the mother-daughter
relationship.It is possible that differentiationwould be less im-
portantfor a healthy and satisfying intergenerationalrelationship
in a collectivistic culture.
Hypotheses
Six sets of hypotheses were tested relating to the three key
dimensions.The variableswere: (a) connectedness;(b) closeness;
(c) interdependence;(d) dependency;(e) trustin hierarchy;and (f)
differentiation.On all of the variables,except differentiation,it was
hypothesizedthatfor both actualand ideal scores the Asian Indian
Americangroup will score the highest, followed by the Mexican
Americangroup,and then the EuropeanAmericangroup.For ac-
tual and ideal differentiation the opposite was hypothesized,
namely,the scores for the EuropeanAmericangroupwould be the
highest, followed by the Mexican American,and then the Asian
IndianAmericans.
Methods
Recruitmentand Procedures
The target was to elicit participation from at least thirty
women each from EuropeanAmerican, Asian Indian American,
andMexicanAmericanethnicgroups.The samplewas non-random
and purposive.The women were recruitedthroughpersonalcon-
tacts, throughtheir place of employmentin two cities in Texas,
and the Internet.The initial sample criteriaincluded women be-
tween the ages of 25 and 35 whose motherswere currentlyliving.
329
It was also decided to include only those women who had re-
ceived some college education.This was done to controlfor class
differences and also provided comparability since the entire
Asian Indian American sample was predictedto have a college
degree. Each participantwas initially contactedin person or over
the telephone in order to request her participation.A question-
nairepacketwas then given/mailedto her.The packetcontaineda
demographicquestionnaireand four other instruments.Of the 91
participants,15 were recruitedover the Internet.They responded
to the cover letter posted on a feminist usenet newsgroup and
providedtheir mailing addressfor the researcher.The women re-
cruited met all the criteria for inclusion in the study. The three
ethnic groups were equally representedin the Internetsample.
The construction and implementation of this survey followed
Dillman's (1978) "TotalDesign Method."Two weeks following
the initial distributionof the questionnaire,a follow-up letterwas
mailed. A total of 140 questionnaireswere distributed.Ninety-
one of these were returnedby the deadline, puttingthe response
rate at 65%.
Sample description.All but two of the researchparticipants
were women between the ages of 25 and 35, having some college
education.Of the exceptions,one woman was 23 and did not have
a college educationand anotherwoman was 39 years of age. All
women were highly acculturatedbut there were still differences
between groups since the majority of the Indian immigrantsto
the U.S. arrived after 1965 (Sheth, 1995). As expected, there
were significantdifferencesbetween the ethnic groups in educa-
tion, X2(10,N = 91) = 25.54, p = 0.004 and income, X2(10,N =
91) = 21.36, p = 0.02. Approximatelya thirdof each group had
an undergraduatedegree. However,abouttwo-thirdsof the Euro-
pean Americanand the Asian IndianAmericangroups and only
one-thirdof the Mexican Americanshad been to graduateschool.
About two-thirds of the Asian Indian American group earned
more than $35,000 while only one-thirdof the EuropeanAmeri-
cans and Mexican Americans fell in the same income bracket.
Another expected difference was in distance (in miles) from the
mother, with most Mexican American women living 201-800
miles and most Asian IndianAmericanwomen living 3,001 and
above miles from theirmothers,X2(10, N = 91) = 75.54, p = 0.00.
Unexpectedly,the groups differedby age of respondentwith the
Mexican Americangroupolder (M = 31, SD = 3.6) thanthe Euro-
pean American(M = 29, SD = 3) and the Asian IndianAmerican
(M = 28, SD = 2.8) women, F(2,88) = 7.30, p < 0.001. The ma-
jority of the participantswere married(56%),most had no children
(72.5%), and the mean age of their mothers was 55.77 (SD =
6.34). The majorityof the women (82.4%)had lived 15 to 25 years
with their mother.Variablesthat did not differ by ethnicity were
age of mother,maritalstatus,numberof children,and years lived
with mother. These demographic differences led to additional
analyses in orderto check for confoundsand are reportedfurther
ahead.
Measures
Revised Adult AttachmentScale (AAS). This scale was de-
vised by Collins and Read (1990) based on Hazan and Shaver's
(1987) single item scale and attachmenttheory.The AAS has 18
items and three subscales:close measuresthe comfortof the sub-
ject with intimacyand closeness, and dependcontainsitems indi-
cating the subject's extent of trust in others and the ability to
dependon them.The presentstudydid not use the anxietysubscale
scores. This scale is not normallyapplied to mother-daughterre-
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lationships.Itemswere adaptedto measurethe subjects'perceived,
actual, and ideal closeness and dependencyin their relationship
with their mother. Alpha values for closeness and dependency
were adequatefor both actualand ideal closeness and dependency
(0.65 to 0.91). Evidence for the validityfor the AAS is being ac-
cumulated(Collins & Read, 1990). A factor analysis lent support
for the existence of three underlying factors and the scoring
scheme (Collins & Read, 1990). In addition,the AAS subscales
were used to predictattachmentclassification(an indicatorof cri-
terion validity) in the Hazan and Shaver measure (Collins &
Read, 1990) with 73% accuracy.A majordrawbackof the AAS
is that is was not developed to be sensitive to the manner in
which otherculturesmay understandcloseness and dependency.
Motherand AdultDaughter(MAD)questionnaire.The MAD
was developed by the first authorto measurevarious aspects of
the currentmother-adultdaughterrelationshipin a culturallysen-
sitive manner(Rastogi, 1998). Items were generatedin two ways.
Theoreticaland empiricalwork on mother-daughter, intergenera-
tional,andcross-culturalrelationshipswas used to definethe terms
and generatea preliminaryquestionnaire.This questionnairewas
used in a pilot study.Responsesfrom a pilot studywere utilizedto
rewordsome items and create new ones to include a wider range
of items reflecting connectedness, interdependence,and trust in
hierarchyin differentcultures.
For this study, an "actual"as well as an "ideal"form of the
MAD was developed and administered.The former referredto
the current relationship between the adult daughter and her
mother,and the latterto the kind of relationshipshe would like to
have. The contentof the items of the two forms, and their scoring
were similarfor each of the subscales;the differencessimply lay
in the tense used and the instructionsgiven.
Nine items of the MAD measurethe constructof actualcon-
nectedness,and 8 measureideal connectedness.This discrepancy
in the numberof items resultedfromthe inabilityto convertone of
the items to the ideal closeness form. The subscale of connected-
ness combines the ability to share feelings and opinions, as well
as to make sacrifices within the context of the adult daughter-
motherrelationship.It includes,but is not limited to the construct
of emotional closeness, support,high felt attachment,and inti-
macy. It is differentfrom Collins and Read's (1990) constructof
closeness because it furthersubsumespracticalandbehavioralin-
dicatorsof showing care. However,connectednessdoes not carry
with it the necessity for frequentphysical contact or verbal ges-
turesof closeness. Higherscores indicatemore comfortwith, and
greaterdisplay of connectedness.This definitionis culturallyfair
and attemptsto be sensitive to the issues of immigrantwomen.
Scores rangedfrom 9 to 45 for actualconnectednessand 8 to 40
for ideal connectedness.The values of alphafor the two versions
of the subscalewere 0.92 and 0.87 respectively.
Items measuringinterdependenceexaminedthe daughter'sex-
pectationthathermotherwill be available,emotionallyor otherwise,
when needed. The constructof interdependenceincludes mutual
dependencyin emotional and practicalways, within the mother-
daughterrelationship.The focus on practicalhelp distinguished
this constructfrom dependence(Collins & Read, 1990). This in-
cludes actuallyseekingmother'shelp and advice,or feeling free to
do so. Furthermore,no negativeconnotationsare associatedwith
these behaviors.This constructis also sensitive to cross-cultural
variation.Scores rangedfrom 3 to 15 with higherscores reflecting
greaterinterdependence.The values of Cronbach'salpha for the
actualandideal subscaleswere0.86 and0.74, respectively.
Family Relations
 The first authoridentified the construct"trustin hierarchy."
It reflects the positive aspects of the hierarchicalrelationshipbe-
tween the mother and her adult daughterin some collectivistic
cultures.The MAD appearsto be the firstinstrumentto measureit.
This construct has a negative connotation associated with it in
adult-to-adult relationshipsin Whitemiddle-classAmericanculture.
High trustin hierarchyincludes women deferringto their mother
regardless of the daughter's age. This is out of respect for the
mother's wisdom, and perhapsher higher status in the family. It
is assumed that the older woman will know what is best for her
daughter.Even if the daughterdoes not believe this, deference is
expected of her in social situations. Frequently,adult daughters
accept the positive aspects of hierarchicalinteractionswith their
mother. Scores could range from 6 to 30, with higher scores
pointing to greatertrustin hierarchy.The alpha values were 0.87
for actual,and 0.77 for ideal trustin hierarchy.
Validityof the MAD was assessed in three ways. Pre-testing
of this scale with a pilot sample confirmed face validity. The
feedbackwas used to rewordsome of the items. Second, theoreti-
cally derived items in the subscales were used to ensure content
validity of the subscales. Third, construct validity was assessed
by correlatingscores of the closeness and dependencysubscales
of the MAD with those obtained for the same subscales of the
AAS since there exists some degree of overlap between the two
sets of constructs.Furtherquantitativescores obtainedusing the
MAD were cross-checked with responses to open-ended ques-
tions. Correlationsbetween several of the subscales were in the
expected range. Scores on the MAD and the AAS correlated
highly and significantlyfor connectedness(r = .77, p = .001), and
interdependence(r = .73, p = .00 1). The threeethnic groupsshow
some variation.For the trust in hierarchysubscale, only content
and face validity were available.The correlationsfor actual and
ideal closeness were 0.77 and 0.58, respectively,and those for ac-
tual and ideal dependencywere 0.73 and 0.41, respectively.The
significanceof all of these correlationsis p < .001 (one-tailed).
Open-endedquestions. The open-endedquestions targetthe
subjects'understandingof closeness and dependencyin the actual
and ideal mother-daughter relationshipin her culture.The answers
were used to see how the respondents(especially those from the
Mexican American and Indian cultures) defined the terms and
whether they referred to the behaviors that make up closeness
and dependenceas well as connectednessand interdependence.
Level of Differentiationof Self Scale. The LDSS was devel-
oped by Haber(1990) to assess the level of differentiationof in-
dividualswithin a family system. It began with the re-analysisof
other measuresof differentiation,and Bowenian theory (Bowen,
1972; Kerr, 1981; Kerr& Bowen, 1988). The scale has 24 items
and uses a four-pointLikert scale, with possible scores ranging
from 24 to 96. According to Bowenian theory, individualswho
score higher are thoughtto have a strongersense of self, be less
reactive to emotional forces within a relationship system, and
have lower levels of dysfunction(Haber,1990). In this study,the
LDSS was administeredtwice to measurethe respondent'sactual
and ideal level of differentiation.Alpha was found to be 0.89 for
actualdifferentiation,and 0.91 for ideal differentiation.
Results
One-wayANOVAswere conductedto test differencesamong
the three ethnic groups.These results are reportedin Table 1 (ac-
tual) and Table2 (ideal). Groupmeans were then comparedusing
the Tukeytest. On most variables,it was hypothesizedthat Asian
IndianAmericanswould fall on the high end on each variable,fol-
lowed by the Mexican Americans,with the EuropeanAmerican
group the lowest. In the area of differentiation,the Asian Indian
American women were expected to score the lowest; with the
Mexican American women next, and the European American
women the highest.Most hypotheseswere supported.
For the participants'perceptions of the currentrelationship
between themselves and their mothers,there were significantdif-
ferences between the ethnic groups on four of the six variables
(see Table 2). In each case, the Asian Indian American group
showed more extremescores than the EuropeanAmericangroup.
Thus, Asian IndianAmericanwomen indicatedmore connected-
ness, F(2,88) = 4.47, p = .01, more closeness, F(2,88) = 4.17, p =
.02, more dependency,F(2,88) = 4.05, p = .02, and highertrustin
hierarchy,F(2,88) = 7.14, p = .001, thandid the EuropeanAmeri-
can women. In each case, the MexicanAmericanwomen's scores
fell in the middle, but did not differ significantlyfrom the other
two groups. Treatmentmagnitudeor the amountof varianceex-
plained, (Omega Squared)for actual trust in hierarchywas .12
(see Table 1). This is a medium effect size and was the second
largestomega squaredvalue obtainedin the results.
A slightly differentpatternemerged for the ideal scores (see
Table 2). Again, the hypotheses were the same as above. Results

Table 1
One-WayANOVAsfor Actual Variablesfor Each of the ThreeEthnic Groups
Ethnic Group
EA AIA MA F Value Omega Treatment
Variable (n = 31) (n = 30) (n = 30) (2,88) Tukey Sq. Magnitude
Connectedness M 32.84 38.50 34.20 4.47** AIA > EA 0.07 Medium
SD 9.05 4.41 8.69
Closeness M 21.16 26.00 23.67 4.17* AIA > EA 0.07 Medium
SD 8.18 4.78 6.15
Interdependence M 9.32 10.73 9.80 1.23 0.01 Small
SD 3.76 2.83 3.97
Dependency M 21.06 24.77 22.07 4.05* AIA > EA 0.06 Medium
SD 6.29 3.14 5.71
TinH M 14.48 19.70 16.77 7.14*** AIA > EA 0.12 Medium
SD 5.58 4.52 5.99
Differentiation M 78.77 77.63 77.50 0.21 -0.02 Small
SD 7.53 8.19 9.36
Note: EA = EuropeanAmerican;AIA = Asian IndianAmerican;MA = Mexican American;T in H = Trustin Hierarchy.
*p<0.05. **p<o.ol. ***p<o.ool.

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Table 2
One-WayANOVAsfor Ideal Variablesfor Each of the ThreeEthnic Groups
Ethnic Group
EA AIA MA F Value Omega Treatment
Variable (n = 31) (n = 30) (n = 30) (2,88) Tukey Sq. Magnitude
Connectedness M 33.81 33.73 32.67 0.44 -0.01 Small
SD 5.70 4.12 5.78
Closeness M 26.52 28.00 23.96 9.91**** EA, AIA > MA 0.16 Large
SD 4.07 2.44 3.90
Interdependence M 11.06 11.87 11.10 0.82 0.004 Small
SD 2.87 2.32 2.99
Dependency M 24.84 25.43 22.70 4.09* AIA > MA 0.06 Medium
SD 3.94 3.50 4.22
T in H M 16.74 19.87 17.67 3.92* AIA > EA 0.06 Medium
SD 3.95 4.83 5.27
Differentiation M 89.29 83.03 83.70 4.82** EA > AIA, MA 0.08 Medium
SD 7.00 9.29 9.54
Note: EA = EuropeanAmerican;AIA = Asian IndianAmerican;MA = Mexican American;T in H = Trustin Hierarchy.
*p<0.05. **p<O.Ol. ****p<O.OOOl.

showed significantdifferencesbetween the ethnic groups on four
of the six variables. These were closeness, F(2,88) = 9.91, p =
.0001, dependency, F(2,88) = 4.09, p = .02, trust in hierarchy,
F(2,88) = 3.92, p = .02, and differentiation,F(2,88) = 4.82, p = .01.
However,the hypotheseswere only partlysupported,with a more
complex patternemerging than with the differences on the per-
ceived actual levels of these variables.Overall, the hypothesized
differencesemerged most clearly for the Asian IndianAmerican
group,i.e. it was most significantlydifferentin the expecteddirec-
tion from the EuropeanAmericangroupon trustin hierarchy,and
ideal differentiation.Unexpectedly,both the Asian IndianAmeri-
can and the EuropeanAmerican groups desired more closeness
thanthe MexicanAmericangroup.For ideal differentiation,signif-
icant differencesemergedfor the Mexican Americangroupin the
expected direction.The effect size for ideal closeness was found
to be 0.16 which is considereda large effect size (see Table2). It
was also the largestomega squaredvalue obtainedin this study.
It is worth noting that there were some differencesbetween
the results obtainedabove using the AAS (Collins & Read, 1990)
subscales (close and depend) comparedwith the MAD subscales
(connectednessand interdependence)for both the actual and the
ideal analyses. These differencesmay be the result of the cultur-
ally sensitivecontentof the MAD.
Two discriminantfunction analyses were conducted,one for
the actual(see Tables3a and 3b) and one for the ideal scores (see
Tables4a and 4b). Each analysis helped identify which of the six
variablesdifferentiatedthe most between the threeethnic groups.
For the actual variables, two discriminant functions were ex-
tractedwith a combinedX2(l2, N = 91) = 22.14, p = .03, but only
Function 1 was significant. The two functions accounted for
89.91% and 10.09%respectively,of the between-groupvariabil-
ity. Function 1 (actual) was high on trustin hierarchy,connected-
ness, closeness, dependency, and interdependence, i.e., all
variablesbut differentiation.Function 1 was negativelyassociated
with the EuropeanAmericangroup,but positively with the Asian
IndianAmericangroup.Since Function2 (actual) was not signif-
icant, this analysis was unableto separatethe Mexican American
groupfrom the EuropeanAmericanand the Asian IndianAmeri-
can groups. Overall, the percent of subjects correctly classified
by ethnic group was 45.05%. For the ideal variables, two dis-
criminantfunctions were extracted,of which both were signifi-
cant with a combined X2(l2, N = 91) = 37.41, p = .000. For the
second function,x2(5, N = 91) = 12.72,p = .03. The two functions
accountedfor 67.62% and 32.38% respectively,of the between-
groupvariability.Function 1 (ideal) includedhigh levels of close-
ness, dependency, interdependence,and connectedness. Again,
differentiationwas separatedout from most other variablesbut

Table 3a Table4a
DiscriminantAnalysisfor the ThreeEthnic Groupsby Actual Variables DiscriminantAnalysisfor the ThreeEthnic Groupsby Ideal Variables
GroupCentroids GroupCentroids
European Asian Indian Mexican European Asian Indian Mexican
Discriminant % of Chi-Square American American American Discriminant % of Chi-Square American American American
Function Variance (df) (n = 31) (n = 30) (n = 30) Function Variance (df) (n = 31) (n = 30) (n = 30)
1 89.91 22.14 (12)* -0.56 0.66 -0.08 1 67.62 37.41*** (12) -0.01 0.70 -0.70
2 10.09 2.45 (5) 0.14 0.09 -0.24 2 32.38 12.72* (5) 0.55 -0.28 -0.29
*p<.05. *p < .05. ***p < .001.

Table 3b Table4b
CorrelationsBetween DiscriminatingVariablesand DiscriminantFunctions CorrelationsBetweenDiscriminatingVariablesand DiscriminantFunctions
Variables Function 1 Function2 Variables Function 1 Function2
Trustin Hierarchy .79* -.12 Closeness .81* .19
Connectedness .62* .31 Dependency .50* .25
Closeness .60* -.25 Connectedness .20* -.18
Dependency .59* .24 Interdependence .14* .14
Interdependence .33* .06 Differentiation -.06 .82*
Differentiation -.10 .27* Trustin Hierarchy .41 -.45*
*Denotes the largercorrelationbetween a variableand the two functions. *Denotes the largercorrelationbetween a variableand the two functions.

332 Family Relations

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this time trustin hierarchywas also excluded. Function 1 (ideal)
was negativelyassociatedwith the Mexican Americangroup,and
separatedit from the Asian Indian American group, which was
positively associatedwith it. Function2 (ideal) includedhigh dif-
ferentiationand low trust in hierarchy.The EuropeanAmerican
group was highly positively associated with this function, while
the Asian Indian American and Mexican groups had a mildly
negativeassociationwith it. Overall,the percentof cases correctly
classified by ethnic group was 58.24%. Both the actual and the
ideal discriminantfunctionswere able to classify the Asian Indian
American group with greatest accuracy.These percentageswere
66.7 and 63.3 respectively(comparedto chance being at 33.3%).
As expected, there were differencesin demographiccharac-
teristics between the three ethnic groups. As a check, two-way
ANOVAs were conducted, with the independentvariablesbeing
ethnicity and each of these categorical variables (education, in-
come, and distance) for all the dependentvariables included in
the study. For the continuous variable (age), an ANCOVA was
conducted. The categorical variables were collapsed into fewer
categoriesin orderto have adequatenumbersin each cell. In gen-
eral, the independentvariablethat showed largersignificantmain
effects was ethnic group. In other words, it appearsthat possible
confoundingfactors such as income and educationare not as im-
portantas ethnicity in understandingconnectedness, closeness,
interdependence,dependency,trust in hierarchy,and differentia-
tion. These findingsconfirmwhat was expected.
ContentAnalysis
The purpose of using content analysis in this study was: (a)
to obtaininformationon culturaldifferencesin the definitionof the
constructs of closeness and dependency,and (b) to cross-check
the validity of the quantitativefindings. Since standardizedin-
strumentsrely on linguisticconsensus,open-endedquestionswere
used to see how closeness and dependencyare defined across cul-
tures. In four open-endedquestions,participantswere asked their
opinion of what was actual closeness, ideal closeness, actual de-
pendency, and ideal dependency in the context of the adult
daughter-motherrelationshipin their culture.Insteadof using the
word "ideal" the questions on ideal closeness and dependency
asked about the kind of relationshipthe person wished to have
with her own mother.
This study used manifest (surface)content, ratherthan inter-
pretation,to improvereliability(Babbie, 1989). Validityis ensured
by, first, the directnessof the open-endedquestions. Second, the
categoriesthatemergedfrom the responsesmatchedcertainitems
of the standardizedmeasuresused elsewhere in the questionnaire
packet.
Categories were developed based on the participants' re-
sponses to questions. All responses were tabulatedfor frequency
of occurrenceof categorieswithin each ethnic group.(No outside
judges were used for these two steps.) Kerlinger(1986) termsthis
the "nominalmethod."To capturethe similaritiesand differences
between the ethnic groups,responsesthatoverallwere mentioned
by five or more women were included. (A complete set of re-
sponsesis availablefrom the firstauthor.)Also calculatedwere the
rank orders of those responses in terms of frequencywithin that
ethnic group. The rank orderreflected all the possible responses
ratherthanjust the responsesshown in the tables.
For actual and ideal closeness, a total of 27 categoriesof re-
sponses emerged from the participants'responses. "Showingre-
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spect for the other,"was by far the most common response and
was endorsedby the women in all threegroupsin the actualcate-
gories. Overall,the Asian IndianAmericanwomen used termslike
"trust"and "being dependable,"suggesting securityto be impor-
tant in the relationship.They also idealized their own relationship
and valued communication and friendship. Mexican American
women's relationshipsalso included availability,but with a focus
on honest communication,and doing activitiestogether.Thus they
emphasizedemotional and practicalintimacy.They too idealized
their own relationship with their mothers. European American
women balancedautonomywith caring.They mentionedhonesty
and caring,but less dependabilityand respect.Althoughthe same
numberof responses emerged, there were fewer categories with
five or more responses in the ideal area.Most strikingis the lack
of informationon the ideal, with many women assertingthattheir
own relationshipwas ideal, or that they did not know an ideal re-
lationship.
Twenty-twocategories emerged from responses to the ques-
tion about actual dependency. Each of the groups mentioned
making one's own decisions, and keeping dependenceto a mini-
mum in the mother-daughterrelationship.In addition,the Asian
IndianAmericangroup'srelationshipsseemed more hierarchical,
and referredto the importance of mother's advice, and getting
emotional support.The Mexican Americanwomen thoughtit im-
portant to "be dependable" but not be dependent. Thus they
sought to give ratherthan receive in their relationship.The Euro-
pean Americangroupfocused on autonomy,especiallyin financial
matters.In the case of ideal dependency,a total of 25 categories
were formed.Again, severalparticipantsdid not offer much infor-
mationfor this question.The most frequentanswerwas that their
own relationshipwas ideal, or that they did not know an ideal re-
lationship. All women felt that ideally, dependence should be
minimized. The differences lay in the Asian Indian American
women's mothersgiving advice, the Mexican Americanmothers
giving emotional support, and the European American group
being dependable. To summarize, both similarities and differ-
ences exist between the responses of the three ethnic groups that
correspondto quantitativeresults.
Discussion
The authors attemptedto study any differences associated
with culture in the mother-adultdaughterrelationshipalong the
dimensions of closeness, reliability, and collectivism. Samples
were chosen based on the participants'ability to communicate
fluently in English and homogeneity on variables such as age.
Attemptsto limit variabilityhad to be balancedwith inherentdif-
ferences between the three populationson variablessuch as dis-
tance from mother.The groups expectedly differed on education
and income but the authorsattemptedto reduce between group
differencesby selecting samples with high educationand income
for all groups.However,this led to the three groupsnot being en-
tirelyrepresentativeof theirrespectivecultures.Thus these results
may not be generalizable to all members of a particularethnic
group, especially those who are most dissimilar to the study's
participants.Second, demographicdifferencesbetween the three
groups need to be further examined. The European American
groupwas more educatedthanthe MexicanAmericanwomen but
both groupsearnedthe same amountof money.This might be be-
cause about 10% of the EuropeanAmericanwomen in the study
were also part-timestudents and may have been employed less
than full time. Additionally,the Mexican Americanwomen were
333
 older and may thereforehold higherjob positions with more pay.
Asian Indian American women's higher reported income may
come from being marriedand in a two income household.While
intra-groupvariabilityin income, education, and distance from
mother were found to not have a confoundingeffect on the de-
pendent variables, these differences need further examination.
Third,the Asian IndianAmericangroupseemed to consist of im-
migrantswhose motherslived in India.Additionaldata aboutthe
immigrationstatus of all women and its impact on the mother-
daughterrelationshipwould be of interest.
The strengthof this study lies in the fact that the hypotheses
were derivedfrom theory and previous literature.Challenges re-
lated to conceptualequivalencewere dealt with and the new in-
strument(MAD) led to the use of constructsthat had not been
previouslymeasured.In spite of complex samplingand conceptual
equivalenceissues, a numberof hypotheses were supported.Re-
sults showed the Asian Indian American group's score was dif-
ferent from that of at least one other group in the expected
direction.This matched the findings that showed that the Asian
IndianAmericangroupcould be classified most accuratelyon the
basis of the discriminantfunctions;this groupwas most different
of the three.
For actual connectedness and closeness, the Asian Indian
Americangroupwas higher,andfor ideal closeness,both the Euro-
pean American and the Asian Indian American groups scored
significantlyhigher than the Mexican American women. This is
especially significant since the Mexican American group lived
geographicallyclosest to theirmothers,followed by the European
American and then the Asian Indian American group. These re-
sults suggest that geographicaldistance does not hinder mother-
daughter connectedness for the Asian Indian American group.
While the results for the EuropeanAmerican and the Mexican
Americangroupsarenot as clear-cut,furtherresearchis warranted.
Contentanalysisfindingsmatchquantitativeresults.The European
Americangroupemphasizedboth autonomyand caringwhile the
Asian Indian American group emphasized a secure relationship.
This relates to the differencesin actual connectednessand close-
ness between the two groups. The Mexican Americangroup ap-
peared to value practicaland emotional closeness. Results show
that such culturaldifferences were picked up by the MAD and
not the AAS. Significantly,the qualitativeresults show that both
the degree and the definitionsof closeness are culturebound. At
a theoreticallevel, the resultsprovidesupportfor the feminist ob-
ject relationsargumentsof the importanceof the mother-daughter
bond in the lives of adult women (Chodorow,1978; Eichenbaum
& Orbach,1988; Walters,1988).
For both actual and ideal dependency,results varied by the
measures used. For interdependence,the three groups were not
differentfrom each other.Possibly,the MAD was sensitiveto dif-
ferentaspects of interdependenceacross culturesbut led to equiv-
alent means. On the AAS, the Asian Indian American group
scored higher than the EuropeanAmericanwomen on actual de-
pendency,and the Mexican Americangroupon ideal. In the con-
tent analysis, the Asian Indian American women were most
likely to cite seeking advice and supportfrom their mother,mak-
ing them higher on dependency, while the EuropeanAmerican
women stressed non-dependency,especially in financial matters.
The Mexican American women preferredbeing dependableto-
wardtheir mothers,but did not want to dependon them in return.
Thus, their results on the AAS might indicatethese women's low
inclinationto be dependenton theirmother.Demographically,the
334
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Mexican American daughters were older than the other two
groups.This may makethem less likely to dependon theirmother.
Second, based on the content analysis it may be speculatedthat
the MexicanAmericanwomen have immigrantmotherswho may
be dependenton theirmore acculturateddaughtersthanvice-versa.
Overall, these results suggest the importance of differences in
interdependencein adultdaughter-mother relationshipsacross the
three cultures. While intergenerationalfamily therapy theories
(Bowen, 1972; Harvey & Bray, 1991; Harvey, Curry, & Bray,
1991; Kerr, 1981; Kerr& Bowen, 1988; Williamson, 1981) em-
phasize autonomy over dependence in family relationshipsthe
currentfindings support a more ethnic-focused examination of
interdependence. Also, the application of these findings may
need to take into account factors like level of acculturationof
motherand age of the daughter.
The results supportedthe hypotheses that each of these cul-
tures encourages different degrees of hierarchical interactions
(Julianet al., 1994). Though the Asian IndianAmericanwomen
were higher on educationand income and thus hold the potential
for more autonomyand less hierarchythan the other two groups,
they appearto behave contrarily.Clearly,the Asian IndianAmer-
ican women believe in deferringto one's mother and accepting
her wisdom, both in the current relationship and as a general
value more than European American women. The open-ended
answers also elicited similar responses. This demonstratesthe
close associationbetween dependencyand trustin hierarchyand
points to the common core of "trust"shared by both. Women
who are more comfortabledependingon their mothersalso seem
likely to be more comfortablewith, and acceptingof hierarchyin
that relationship. The interconnections between the two con-
structs are a way to further explore intergenerational theory.
Given thatthe Indiancultureis high on trustin hierarchy,the role
of individuationand terminationof hierarchyin healthy adultre-
lationships needs to be reexamined. These results demonstrate
that,contraryto prevailingtheory(e.g., Bowen, 1972; Williamson,
1981), certainculturesvalue trust in hierarchyin the adult child
and parentrelationship.
On actualdifferentiation,it appearsthatthe threeculturesare
more similarthan different.However,results of ideal differentia-
tion show the European American culture to be significantly
higherthanthe others,and supportthe workby Julianet al. (1994)
and Spiegel (1982), who comparedthe threegroupson character-
istics such as individuality versus collective orientation.While
the groups do not differ in practicein the area of differentiation,
the EuropeanAmericangroupendorsesit as a desirableideal.
The discriminantanalysis underscoredthis point. High dif-
ferentiationloadeddifferentlyfrom most othervariables,(also see
Davis & Jones, 1992), as a separatefunction for actual, and in
combination with low trust in hierarchy for ideal variables. In
both instances, the relationshipcharacteristicsthat separatedthe
Asian IndianAmericanand the EuropeanAmericangroup were
diametricallyopposed to each other,with a more complex pattern
emerging for the Mexican American group. The results imply
that within certain cultures it is entirely possible to have a high
degree of connectednessand interdependenceand high differenti-
ation within the mother-daughterrelationship.Second, only the
EuropeanAmericangroup saw high differentiationand low trust
in hierarchyas an ideal statebut these sentimentswere not shared
by all cultures.A universalapplicationof the principlesof high
differentiation (Bowen, 1972) and low hierarchy (Williamson,
1981) to all families is contraindicatedby these results.
Family Relations
 The sample used in this study was small and non-random;
this may have affectedthe validity of the results. Some of the dif-
ferences in the results of the two measurescould come from lack
of conceptualequivalence.Quantitativedifferences in scores are
less likely between the cultureswhere differencesare of a quali-
tative kind. For example, it is possible that the MAD tappedcul-
turallyspecific and practicalways of denotingconnectednessand
interdependencefor each of the three groups, so that the total
scores for the threegroupswere similar.
Clinical Implications
The results are significant in that they supportthe idea that
the theories,namelyintergenerational, feministobjectrelationsand
attachment,apply differentlyto the three culturalgroups studied.
Despite the non-randomnatureof the sampling, the results lead
to the conclusion thatthe theoriesmay not be universallyrelevant
to all culturalgroups. The differences between cultures suggest
that researchersand practitionersworking with culturallydiverse
families need use caution when evaluatingrelationships.In this
sample, the European American women desired closeness, but
wanted less dependence while the Mexican American women
wanted some closeness and were comfortablewith their mother
depending on them. The Asian Indian American women were
very high on connectedness,closeness, dependence,and trust in
hierarchy.When evaluating non-EuropeanAmerican families,
practitionersshould be awareof the negativecorrelationbetween
the constructsof trustin hierarchyand differentiation.Practitioners
need to explore alternative,culturallyspecific, healthy forms of
adultdaughterand motherrelationships.This may include a will-
ingness to modify how one defines ideal relationships,and what
one considers functional levels of connectedness,hierarchy,etc.
(Other intergenerationalrelationshipsin the family may follow
these patternstoo.) Results also point to the importanceof family
practitioners'and researchers'need to explore meanings of con-
structs for the family, ratherthan assuming linguistic consensus
across cultures. For example, practitioners should evaluate
whether or not their clients' notions of relationshipsatisfaction
(as it is understoodwithin their culture)are the same as those of
the therapist's.This would ensure a more culturallysensitive de-
livery of services.
The findings suggest thatthe therapistneeds to pay attention
to the adultdaughter-motherrelationshipboth as a source of sup-
port and difficulty. Women from all three cultures wrote about
the high degree of felt attachmentand satisfactionthatthey derive
from this relationship.This points to the enduringsignificanceof
the mother-daughterintergenerationalbond.
FutureResearch
Follow-upresearchis needed using more representativesam-
ples for each ethnic group.This would allow us to drawmore au-
thoritativeconclusions regardinggroup differences. Also, more
informationabout the women, such as their immigrationhistory
and that of their mothers would strengthen the study. Further,
comparingthese women with their counterpartsin their country
of origin would add to our understandingof the mother-daughter
relationship.
This study stirs up, but does not resolve, an importantissue.
Are constructslike closeness quantitativelydifferent,but compa-
rable, for each cultureor are they qualitativelydifferentfor each
culture, and hence incomparable? Do some constructs have a
"commoncore" across cultures,while otherslike "trustin hierar-
1999, Vol. 48, No. 3
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chy" are unique to a culture? These issues are worth pursuing.
Furtherrefinementof the instruments,particularlythe use of item
analysis for the MAD, could result in the creationof scales that
are culturallyspecific, somewhat differentfrom each other, and
achieve conceptualequivalence.
In severalof the quantitativeanalyses,the means of the Mex-
ican American group appearedto fall in between the other two
groups. This group's membershipwas least accuratelypredicted
in the discriminantanalysis. This shows that furtherresearchis
warrantedas the level of acculturationor some other variable(s)
may mediate the nature of the mother-daughter relationship
across cultures. It is also possible that the MAD and the AAS
were less culturallysensitive to the Mexican Americangroup.To
remedy this, more items derivedfrom the categoriesemphasized
by the Mexican American women in the content analysis could
be addedto futureversionsof the MAD.
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Mudita Rastogi, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor at the Illinois
School of ProfessionalPsychology and Affiliate Therapistat the
Family Instituteat NorthwesternUniversity.Her research areas
include gender,intergenerational,and cross-culturalissues.
Karen S. Wampler,Ph.D., is Professor of Marriageand Family
Therapyin the Departmentof HumanDevelopment and Family
Studies, TexasTech University.She currentlyserves as a member
of the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family
TherapyEducation.
Received 10-31-1997
Revised & Resubmitted9-25-1998
Second Revise & Resubmit4-12-1999
Accepted 4-16-1999
issues!
FR 799
Family Relations