Mother-Daughter Relationships in Young Adult Literature: A Content Analysis of Adolescent Individuation.

by Gransee, Sarah M

This study describes a content analysis of young adult literature. Eight novels were selected and examined in regards to mother-daughter relationships and the presentation of daughters’ individuation. The focus of this paper is the presence of emotional separation due to daughters’ wishes to be independent from mothers.

Based on the findings, novels in young adult literature do not present the process of individuation for adolescent daughters; rather, characters are either fully individuated at the start of the narrative or they struggle to begin their self-actualization throughout the novel. While daughters begin their individuation, their emotional evolutions are marked by strained relationships with their mothers.