Sources of tension in the aging mother and adult daughter relationship

This study explored sources of tension in the aging mother-adult daughter relationship. Forty-eight dyads of healthy mothers over the age of 70 years (mean age = 76 years) and their adult daughters (mean age = 44 years) were interviewed individually and then together about their relationship. Responses to questions about tension were coded as referring to intrusiveness, exclusion, inappropriate care of self or other, or as referring to general habits or traits. The term developmental schism is introduced to explain possible sources of tension in this relationship. Aging mothers and middle-aged daughters are at different points in their adult development; developmental discrepancies may foster interpersonal tension in their relationship. Mothers and daughters who described sources of difficulty that were not related to developmental differences had more positive regard for the relationship.