Reconstructions of family relationships: Parent-child alliances, personal distress, and self-esteem

The aim of this study was to operationalize the structure of family relationships and examine how women's reconstructions of various family patterns during childhood and adulthood relate to their levels of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. Using a sample of 93 women, ages 19 to 22, two family patterns emerged: (a) father-daughter alliance (FDA), whereby fathers seek intimacy and affection from their daughters instead of their wives and have emotionally distant marriages; and (b) mother-daughter triangulation (MDT), characterized by conflicted marriages whereby daughters are caught between their battling parents and mothers seek intimacy from their daughters instead of their husbands. Regression estimates suggest that childhood FDA significantly contributes to depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem even after controlling for the effects of childhood physical abuse and current FDA. Current MDT contributes to anxiety.