Abstract
This study concerns the gender role attitudes ofgirls. These attitudes included their ideas onmotherhood as well as their ideas on female roles ingeneral. We examined whether the relations betweenmothers' employment status and their level of education,and daughters' gender role attitudes were mediated bymothers' own gender role attitudes and child-rearingstyle. In this study, 165 adolescent girls and their mothers participated. Overall, the datademonstrate the importance of mothers in the developmentof daughters' gender role attitudes. A mother'schild-rearing style as well as her own gender role attitudes do influence the gender roleattitudes a daughter develops. Level of education andmothers' employment have indirect effects.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Arditti, J., Godwin, D., & Scanzoni, J. (1991). Perceptions of parenting behavior and young women's gender role traits and preferences. Sex Roles, 25, 195-211.
Baruch, G., & Barnett, R. (1983). Adult daughters' relationships with their mothers. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45, 601-606.
Barnett, R., Kibria, N., Baruch, G., & Pleck, J. (1991). Adult daughter-parent relationships and their associations with daughters' subjective well-being and psychological distress. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 29-42.
Blumer, H. (1981). George Herbert Mead. In K. Plumer (Ed.), Symbolic interactionism. Vol 1. Foundation s and history. Essex, UK: University of Essex, An Elgar Reference Collection.
Booth, A., & Amato, P. (1994). Parental gender role nontraditionalism and offspring outcomes. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 865-877.
Boyd, C. (1989). Mothers and daughters: a discussion of theory and research. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 291-301.
Brinkgreve, C. (1988). De Belasting van de bevrijding [The pressure of emancipation]. Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Sun.
Corder, J., & Stephan, C. (1984). Females' combination of work and family roles: adolescent aspirations. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 46, 391-402.
Chodorow, N. (1978). The reproduction of mothering. Berkely: University of California Press.
Curtis, A. (1991). Perceived similarity of mothers and their early adolescent daughters and relationship to behavior. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20, 381-395.
Du Bois-Reymond, M., Peters, E., & Ravesloot, J. (1994). Keuzeprocessen van jongeren [Choice processes of Dutch youth]. Den Haag, The Netherlands: VUGA.
Eisenga, R., Felling, A., Peters, J., Scheepers P., & Schreuder, O. (1992). Religion in Dutch society 90: Documentation of a national survey on religious and secular attitudes in 1990. Amsterdam: Steinmetz Archive.
Fischer, L. (1991). Between mothers and daughters. Marriage and Family Review, 16, 237-248.
Gecas, V., & Seff, M. (1990). Families and adolescents: a review of the 1980s. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 941-958.
Gerris, J. R. M., Dekovic, M., & Janssens, J. M. A. M. (in press). Parental perspective taking and value orientations: Mediating social class and child-rearing behaviors? Journal of Marriage and the Family.
Gerris, J., Vermulst, A., Van Boxtel, D., Janssens, J., Van Zutphen, R., & Felling, A. (1993). Parenting in Dutch families. Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Institute of Family Studies.
Goldberg, J. (1994). Mutuality in mother-daughter relationships. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 75, 236-242.
Goodnow, J. (1992). Parents' ideas, children's ideas: Correspondence and divergence. In I. Sigel, A. McGillicuddy-DeLisi, & J. Goodnow (Eds.), Parental belief systems: The psychological consequences for children. Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Greenberger, E., & Goldberg, W. (1989). Work, parenting, and the socialization of children. Developmental Psychology, 25, 23-35.
Harkness, S., & Super, C. (1996). Introduction. In S. Harkness & C. Super (Eds.), Parents' cultural beliefsystems: Their origins, expressions, and consequences. New York: Guilford Press.
Herzog, R., & Bachman, J. (1982). Sex-role attitudes among high school seniors: Views about work and family roles. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
Hochschild, A. (1989). The second shift: Working parents and the revolution at home. New York: Avon.
Hoff-Ginsberg, E., & Tardiff, T. (1995). Socioeconomic status and parenting. In M. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting, (Vol. 2). Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hoffman, L. (1979). Maternal employment. American Psychologist, 34, 859-865.
Holden, G. (1995). Parental attitudes toward childrearing. In M. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting, (Vol. 1). Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Holmbeck, G., Paikoff, R., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1995). Parenting adolescents. In M. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting, (Vol. 1). (pp. 91-118). Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hooghiemstra, B., & Niphuis-Nell, M. (1993). Sociale atlas van de vrouw [Social atlas of women]. Rijswijk, the Netherlands: Sociaal & Cultureel Planbureau [Bureau of the Census].
Knijn, C., & Verheyen, C. (1988). Tussen plicht en ontplooing [Between duty and development]. Nijmegen, The Netherlands: ITS.
Kohn, M. L. (1959a). Social class and the exercise of parental authority. American Sociological Review, 24, 352-365.
Kohn, M. L. (1959b). Social class and parental values. The American Journal of Sociology, 64, 337-351.
Kohn, M. L. (1963). Social class and parent-child relationship: An interpretation. American Journal of Sociology, 68, 471-480.
Lamb, M. (1982). Maternal employment and child development: A review. In M. Lamb (Ed.), Nontraditional families: parenting and child development. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Lips, H. (1989). Gender-role socialization: Lessons in femininity. In J. Freeman (Ed.), Women: A feminist perspective. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Meijers, F. (1991). De betekenis van arbeid in het levensplan van jonge mannen en vrouwen [The meaning of employment in the future perspectives of young women and men]. Sociologische Gids [Sociological Guide], 38, 303-323.
Morgan, M. (1987). Television, sex-role attitudes, and sex-role behavior. Journal of Early Adolescence, 7, 269-282.
Peters, J. (1994). Gender socialization of adolescents in the home: Research and discussion. Adolescence, 29, 913-934.
Rollins, J., & White, P. (1982). The relationship between mothers' and daughters' sex role attitudes and self-concepts in three types of family environment. Sex Roles, 8, 1141-1155.
Scanzoni, J., & Fox, G. (1980). Sex roles, family and society: The seventies and beyond. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 42, 20-33.
Schroeder, K., Blood, L., & Maluso, D. (1992). An intergenerational analysis of expectations for women's career and family roles. Sex Roles, 26, 273-291.
Smith, M., & Self, G. (1980). The congruence between mothers' and daughters' sex role attitudes: a research note. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 42, 105-109.
Spitze, G. (1988). Women's employment and family relations: A review. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 595-618.
Starrels, M. (1992). Attitude similarity between mothers and children regarding maternal employment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54, 91-103.
Steinberg, L., Elmen, J., & Mounts, N. (1989). Authoritative parenting, pyschological maturity, and academic success among adolescents. Child Development, 60, 1424-1436.
Zuckerman, D. (1981). Family background, sex role attitudes, and life goals of technical college and university students. Sex Roles, 7, 1109-1126.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jan, C.T.G.M.E., Janssens, M.A.M. Maternal Influences on Daughters' Gender Role Attitudes. Sex Roles 38, 171–186 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018776931419
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018776931419