Hoping she will right my wrong: an exploration of what mothers say to their adolescent age daughters about their own experiences with sexual development

The dynamics of communication within the mother-daughter relationship are uniquely reflected through a cycle of influence that passes from one generation to the next (Rastogi and Wampler, 1999). This cycle can be observed among all racial groups and at various ages and stages of development. Adolescence is especially notable as the onset of puberty often initiates mother-daughter communication about sexual development (Feldman and Rosenthal, 2001). While scholars have studied various aspects of this dialogue, no research has been noted to explore what mothers say to their daughters about their own experiences. Through one time, semi-structured, interviews with five African American mothers of adolescent age daughters, analyzed using the Guide to Listening, this study demonstrates that factors such as how the mother describes her daughter, herself and her own experiences with sexual development influence four themes representing what and how mothers choose to share their own experiences with their daughters.