Abstract. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between mothers’ self-esteem and their parental attitudes toward daughters and to find out if mothers’ ability to understand emotional meanings (treated as an indicator of their reflectivity) is a moderator of the strength of these relationships.
The research involved 74 pairs of daughters aged 23–35 and their mothers. Their task was to fill out the techniques put on an Internet platform: The Attitudes Questionnaire by A. Sukiennik, The Questionnaire of Retrospective Evaluation of Parental Attitudes by M. Plopa and The Test of Understanding Emotional Meanings by A. Matczak and J. Piekarska.
It was found that the mother’s reflectivity significantly reduces the strength of the relationship between her self-esteem and her parental attitude of acceptance, excessive demands, respect for the autonomy of her child, and inconsistency.
