Using Focus Groups to Understand the Dynamics of Mothers and Daughters on Social Networking Sites
- PDF / 855,556 Bytes
- 18 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 93 Downloads / 186 Views
ORIGINAL PAPER
Using Focus Groups to Understand the Dynamics of Mothers and Daughters on Social Networking Sites Sara Santarossa
1
●
Sarah J. Woodruff1
1234567890();,:
1234567890();,:
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Objectives The mother/daughter relationship has been deemed critical for the positive development of self-esteem, body image, and eating behaviors for adolescent girls. As maternal modeling exists offline between mothers and adolescent daughters, a similar influence could be exercised by the fast evolution of digital culture, such as social networking sites (SNSs), thus making it imperative that online mother/daughter relationship be considered and investigated. Methods The current study qualitatively examined the mother/daughter dynamic on SNSs with particular emphasis on exploring the SNS-related influences and understanding what role mothers play in developing their daughters’ SNSs beliefs, attitudes social norms, and behaviors as well as to determine what daughters have learned from their mothers about SNSs. Sixteen mothers of girls born in 2003–2007 (Mage of their daughters = 12.78, SD = 1.31) participated in one of four focus group discussions. In addition, 26 girls born in 2003–2007 (Mage = 13.17, SD = 1.16) participated in one of four focus group discussions. Results The transcripts from the focus groups (N = 8) were looked at as a whole and themes were drawn across the mothers and girls focus groups. Using a deductive and inductive approach, thematic analysis revealed five themes: being your authentic self, co-creating a digital footprint and online expectations, mother as a role model, connecting offline, and transmission of beauty ideals. Conclusions Results suggest that further research is needed to aid in the development of tools that will help foster positive online mother/daughter relationships. Keywords Mother/daughter relationship Social networking sites Focus group ●
Quality relationships with parents have been found to have a significant impact on adolescents’ general well-being and mental health (Goldberg 1994; Newland 2015). In particular, the mother–adolescent relationship has been deemed critical for the positive development of self-esteem for both boys and girls, but especially for adolescent girls (Gilligan 1982; Keizer et al. 2019). The mother serves as a central role model and is critical in the positive development of their daughters. Research on women’s development emphasizes the importance of the mother/daughter dyad. For adolescent girls, their mothers’ opinions remain important (Guassi Moreira and Telzer 2018; Poole and Gelder 1985), however, at the same time they seek autonomy, are increasingly making their own decisions, and
* Sara Santarossa [email protected] 1
University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
●
parents’ control over these decisions declines. The mother/ daughter relationship is a unique and important one, with particular influence in the formation of the adolescent girl’s perception of herself and her bo
Data Loading...
