Publication Date

Spring 2025

Presentation Length

15 minutes

College

College of Sciences & Mathematics

Department

Psychological Science, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

SPARK Category

Research

Faculty Advisor

Patrick Morse

WELL Core Type

Intellectual Wellness

SPARK Session

Personality Psychology 1, 11:45-12:45 or Psychological Science & Neuroscience, 2:00-3:00

Presentation Type

Talk/Oral

Summary

Existing research indicates that feelings of connectedness in the mother-daughter relationship positively predict self-esteem and overall life satisfaction (Onayli & Erdur-Baker, 2013). In addition, mother-daughter communication is significantly correlated with daughters’ perceived self-esteem (Lyle, 1984). Furthermore, parental support of autonomy in adolescents is positively associated with life satisfaction, and this relationship is partially mediated by self-esteem (Ma et al., 2022). Research is clear that autonomy is a strong predictor of self-esteem (Hodgins et al., 2007); however, no research indicates whether or not self-esteem can be a predictor of autonomy. Thus, the purpose of our study is to explore high school self-esteem as it relates to college autonomy and the role the mother-daughter bond plays in this relationship. We gathered data on Belmont undergraduate females through a Qualtrics survey that contained three scales, measuring past self-esteem, current autonomy, and the strength of the mother-daughter relationship. We hypothesize that daughters’ self-esteem in high school will be positively correlated with autonomy in college. Additionally, we hypothesize that the strength of the mother-daughter relationship will moderate the relationship between self-esteem in high school and autonomy in college, such that the relationship between high school self-esteem and college autonomy was significantly higher in mother-daughter relationships with a strong bond. Our findings support our hypotheses showing that self-esteem, specifically in adolescent years, is a predictor of autonomy in emerging adulthood. Further, our results show that this relationship is moderated by a strong, positive mother-daughter bond. Our study provides information on how mothers play a crucial role in their daughters' self-esteem in adolescent years and how this can impact their autonomy as they enter emerging adulthood.

Comments

updated file is the distribution agreement

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