XULAneXUS Volume 9 | Issue 1 Article 6 12-1-2011 Mother-Daughter Relationships in Adulthood: Attachment, Self-Esteem and Illusory Superiority Vanencia Jacquia Lynch Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.xula.edu/xulanexus Recommended Citation Lynch, Vanencia Jacquia (2011) "Mother-Daughter Relationships in Adulthood: Attachment, Self-Esteem and Illusory Superiority," XULAneXUS: Vol. 9 : Iss. 1 , Article 6. Available at: https://digitalcommons.xula.edu/xulanexus/vol9/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by XULA Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in XULAneXUS by an authorized editor of XULA Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Lynch: Mother-Daughter Relationships in Adulthood: Attachment, Self-Este ! Volume 9, Issue 1, December 2011. Research Manuscript. 55-60. ! <http://xulanexus.xula.edu/textpattern/index.php?id=126> ! Mother-Daughter Relationships in Adulthood: Attachment, Self Esteem and Illusory Superiority Vanencia Jacquia Lynch, Psychology, Pre- Medicine Faculty Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Yost Hammer, Psychology and Center for the Advancement of Teaching Abstract Nature as well as nurture can influence the emotional and Vanencia Lynch is a Psychology cognitive growth of a person. Nurture includes the level of major with a minor in Business emotion being shown toward an individual, which is then Administration from Houston, reciprocated. One way that nurture is often measured is through TX. Upon graduating Xavier attachment levels. Research suggests that different forms of next Fall, Lynch plans to get her attachment often contribute to the lifestyle and morals of adults. masters in clinical psychology In the present study, attachment levels between mothers and and then continue on to obtain daughters were examined, in relation to self-esteem and illusory her Psy.D., specializing in superiority. With a basic knowledge of mother-daughter children and adolescents. Lynch attachment and self-esteem one could safely assume that the two is Project Coordinator for the are positively related. No research to date has examined illusory Xavier chapter of Girl Scouts of superiority with the aforementioned variables. Therefore, I America Inc. as well as a hypothesize that mother-daughter attachment, self-esteem, and member of the Peer Dean illusory superiority are positively related. In this study, adult Association. women who reported a strong attachment to their mother did not have a higher self-esteem, which differed from what was hypothesized. However, the findings suggest that adult women that reported a strong attachment to their mother had higher levels of illusory superiority. Also findings show that women that reported higher levels of illusory superiority had lower levels of self-esteem. The relationship between a mother and a daughter could be related to how a daughter views herself in relation to others. Key Terms: • Attachment • Illusory Superiority ! • Self- esteem ""! Published by XULA Digital Commons, 2011 1 XULAneXUS, Vol. 9 [2011], Iss. 1, Art. 6 56 V. Lynch ! Some young girls cannot wait to grow up identified as having an attachment avoidance to be like their mothers. Some daughters are style (as cited by Mikulincer & Shaver, 2005 p. always getting caught playing in their mom’s 150). An individual that reports worry that their make up and high heels. The innocence of this partner will not be around for support in the time moment in a young girl’s life is the foundation of need would be identified as having an for what could turn out to be a healthy growth attachment anxiety style (Mikulincer & Shaver, into adulthood. This healthy growth from 2005). The forms of avoidance and anxiety are childhood to adulthood would be considered the negative and weak attachment styles. Berry, change that takes place which allows young girls Wearden and Barrowclough (2007) add that if an to develop into independent and content women, individual finds it hard to communicate and resulting in a high level of self-esteem. One interact with others, that person is also exhibiting could assume that when a young girl wants to be a negative attachment style. An example of like her mother, she demonstrates a strong sense positive attachment is a person who reports low of mother-daughter attachment. These simple levels of avoidance and anxiety (as cited by connections make mother-daughter attachment Mikulincer & Shaver, 2005). Bartholomew and and self-esteem a highly researched question. Horowitz (1991) also define a positive Since attachment to a mother can influence a attachment style as secure attachment, which is young girl’s self-esteem (Barber, Ball, & when one thinks positive of oneself and is Armistead, 2003), I predict that self-esteem is comfortable with intimacy (Kilmann et al., then related to a young woman feeling superior 2009). The attachment style of an individual can to others. affect a person’s involvement in various personal relationships, such as romantic, platonic, or, for Attachment can occur in various forms the purpose of this study parental relationship and requires a detailed explanation, defining both (Berry et al., 2007). negative and positive aspects. Attachment is an emotional bond that surpasses a physical When speaking of parental relationships, connection an individual has with another. the dynamics of a mother-daughter relationship Bowlby (1969/1982) defines attachment as a give clear examples of how different attachment “psychobiological system that individuals are styles and personality characteristics of a mother born with that allows one to feel the need for can influence a young woman, especially her closeness or proximity to another” (as cited by self-esteem. Self-esteem is defined as how a Mikulincer & Shaver, 2005 p. 150). Attachment person either positively or negatively defines style is the name given to the level of openness themselves. Blyth and Traegar (1983) define or, as stated before, emotional proximity that an self-esteem as the cognitive influences and individual exemplifies. Several studies developments that affects how one thinks of (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Brennan, oneself. For example, an individual that reports Clark, & Shaver, 1998) give a simple depiction having high levels of insecurities may lead to of different attachment styles in a romantic low self-esteem (Kilmann et al., 2009). relationship. An individual that reports feelings of distrust toward their partner would be XULAneXUS: Xavier University of Louisiana’s Undergraduate Research Journal https://digitalcommons.xula.edu/xulanexus/vol9/iss1/6 2 Lynch: Mother-Daughter Relationships in Adulthood: Attachment, Self-Este Mother-DaughterSpecial Relationships Relationships 57 ! As mentioned before, some young girls that these factors both contribute to the creation see their mother as being the ideal framework of of a higher self-esteem for the daughter. the woman they wish to become when they are older. Cait’s (2005) findings show the primary Besides attachment styles between a caregiver in a young woman’s life has the most mother and daughter, another similarity between importance and impact in that young woman’s the Hayden, Singer and Chrisler and Kilmann et life. For the purpose of this study, the primary al. studies is how a mother’s attachment style caregiver will be assumed to be the mother based affected the self-esteem of the daughter. The on history and western societal views on the role self-esteem of a young woman can be attributed of a mother. Therefore, the mother and the to the attachment style in the mother-daughter particular attachment style of both mother and relationship (Barber et al., 2003). When a child is daughter can lead to either the positive or able to feel accepted and shown more consistent negative psychological wellness of the young love, the self-esteem will increase with age. woman. The characteristics that a daughter finds in her mother can determine the outcome of how However, high self-esteem can take a the young woman later identifies herself turn for the worse if an individual starts to use (Kilmann et al., 2009). self-esteem as a way to evaluate herself in relation to other women. Having a positive When exploring the effects of negative outlook on one’s self is a wonderful quality that mother-daughter attachment, we find that if the many struggle to achieve. Nonetheless, there is a mother is not willing to communicate and fine line between high self-esteem and the develop a foundation for a healthy attachment feeling of superiority. Schmidt, Berg and style and relationship with her daughter, then the Deelman (1999) and Hoorens (1995) see illusory young woman will develop a negative outlook superiority as being an “unrealistic optimism” on relationships and attachment. Kilmann et al., approach to self-judgment. Illusory superiority is (2009) supports that claim and believes that a surprisingly under studied topic. The few “avoidant attached mothers may be more likely studies that were conducted have defined illusory to transmit attachment insecurities to their superiority as attributing a greater amount of daughters” (p. 565). That form of mother- positive traits than negative traits to oneself daughter interaction would be one depiction of when comparing oneself to another. an unhealthy and weak attachment of a mother- daughter relationship. Consequently, this may With the basic knowledge of mother- lead to a problem with the self-esteem daughter attachment and self-esteem, one could development