The Role of Co-Residential Grandmothers in Adolescent Daughters’ Sense of Security Toward Their Mothers

This study examined the effects of daughters’ behavioral strategies, mothers’ strategies toward daughters, and co-residential grandmothers’ strategies toward granddaughters on daughters’ sense of security toward their mothers, using regulatory focus theory which assumes promotion-focused (gains oriented) and prevention-focused (loss avoidant) orientations. It was hypothesized that daughters with strong prevention-focused orientations would feel less secure with prevention-focused mothers, but that security would be preserved if grandmothers adopted promotion-focused strategies. Two surveys were conducted: Pilot Study included 105 mother–daughter pairs, and Main Study involved 48 grandmother–mother–daughter groups living together. Daughters completed measures of regulatory focus orientation and security toward their mothers, while mothers and grandmothers assessed their behavior toward daughters/granddaughters. Results supported the hypotheses: prevention-focused daughters felt less secure with prevention-focused mothers, but their security was maintained when grandmothers practiced promotion-focused behavior. These findings suggest that co-residential grandmothers play a key role in regulating adolescent daughter–mother relationships.