Maternal regulation and adolescent autonomy: Mother-daughter resolution of story conflicts.

To examine how maternal regulation and daughters' striving for autonomy are reflected in dyadic communication, 32 eighth- and twelfth-grade daughters and their mothers were audiotaped as they discussed two stories with unresolved mother-daughter conflict themes (daughter's pregnancy, mother's financial problem). The tapes were analyzed for the quality of the conversational statements made while resolving the story conflicts. Results indicated that mothers regulated conversation through questions while daughters were more conceding. This pattern was less marked in older dyads. Five dyadic interaction styles were identified and examined in relation to grade level of the daughters. The results are discussed in light of issues of regulation and autonomy during adolescence and adulthood.