Audiotaped disputes of 101 mother-daughter dyads (daughter ages 11-20) were used to
examine discourse asymmetry in parent-child relationships. To grasp the exchange of
arguments, an observation instrument was designed. Parallel surveys assessed the
extent to which mothers felt they tried to control daughters’ behaviour
and the extent to which daughters felt they tried to separate from and maintain
connection with their mothers in their main argument. Findings suggest that mothers
and daughters displayed dominant behaviour in different parts of the disputes.
Although mothers dominated in the regulative aspects of discourse, daughters took
the lead in the argumentative parts. They dominated in questioning
mothers’ arguments and adding counterarguments. Sequential analyses showed
that daughters were more likely to follow mothers’ initiatives and
contradict their arguments than vice versa. Subjective understanding of the
discourse was related to specific interactions. Mothers’ and
daughters’ verbal behaviour displayed a curvilinear age-dependent pattern.
Subjective data, however, showed no age differences.
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