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This interpretive study explores how mothers and their adolescent daughters respond to and interact about the body malleable ideology, or cultural discourses that normalize thinness and promote the body as changeable. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 mothers and their daughters. Grounded theory analysis revealed two responses to the body malleable ideology—the acceptance or rejection of the body as a malleable object. Participants expressed ambivalence about this ideology and related cultural discourses. Further, through their interactions, mothers and daughters both constructed and deconstructed the ideology of a malleable body. Three patterns of dyadic experience were identified: Pattern A, in which both the mother and daughter accepted the body malleable ideology, Pattern B, in which both the mother and daughter rejected the body malleable ideology, and Pattern C, in which the mother rejected and the daughter accepted the body malleable ideology. In taking an in-depth look at the cases of three dyads, we explore defining characteristics of these patterns. We also present a grounded theory model developed to illustrate relationships discovered in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interpretive study reported in this article focused on the process by which mothers and daughters interact about body and dieting. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 mothers and their adolescent daughters. Constant comparison analysis of data revealed four patterns of mother-daughter interaction about body and dieting: (a) the direct verbal approach, including encouragement/facilitation, dissuasion, and fault-finding messages; (b) the avoidance/guardedness approach; (c) the modeling approach; and (d) the laissez-faire approach. These four patterns of communication varied in terms of content and were used in different contexts and combinations. These mother-daughter interactions (a) were shaped by mothers' and daughters' thoughts about the self, the other, and the mother-daughter relationship; (b) were used by mothers and daughters to plan future interactions with one another; and (c) served to guide lines of personal action with respect to dieting, especially in the case of daughters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This interpretive study focused on mothers' and their adolescent daughters' diet-related thoughts and behaviors and explored the possibility that daughters model their mothers' patterns. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 mothers and their adolescent daughters. Grounded theory analysis revealed that mothers' diet-related experiences were complex, varying across the life span. Among daughters, three types of dieters emerged: nondieters; short-term, low-commitment dieters; and serious dieters. Both mothers and daughters distinguished between "going on a diet" and "watching what you eat." Mother and daughter dieting and watching patterns varied in terms of content, duration, and motive. Findings indicated that modeling effects alone cannot adequately explain diet-related patterns of mothers and their daughters. Intervening variables, such as a daughter's degree of identification with her mother or a mother's verbal reinforcement of a modeled attitude, may affect whether a child models a given maternal behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]