Autonomy and decision making between single older women and their caregiving daughters.

We examined perceptions of decisional autonomy and decision-making processes among 64 elderly, single mothers and their caregiving daughters. Mothers were highly involved in decisions affecting their lives, ranging from daily care to major health decisions; daughters were particularly influential over major health, financial and housing decisions. Mothers' level of personal care dependency was negatively associated with both mothers' and daughters' confidence in the mothers' decision-making abilities.