The Mother-Daughter Relationship and Daughter's Positive Body Image: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The mother-daughter dyad is a powerful relationship known to impact health and wellbeing of daughters throughout their life. This article examined studies focused on factors associated with daughter's positive body image through the mother-daughter relationship. In this systematic review searches were performed for English-language, peer-reviewed articles and dissertations published between 1955 to 2020 in the following databases: Family Studies Abstracts, ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMED, Scopus, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. Out of 444 potential records after removing duplicates, four were fully reviewed and synthesized. Study outcomes were analyzed through thematic analysis resulting in three major themes relating to the mother-daughter relationship as a facilitator for daughter's positive body image: (1) maternal role modeling of healthy behaviors; (2) positive body talk and communication; (3) relational connection.