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Date of Award
2016
Publisher
North Dakota State University
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Awarded
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Program
Communication
Department
Communication
College
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Faculty Advisor
Beck, Stephenson J.
Description
Popular culture representations of in-law relationships are frequently negative, and research has affirmed the communication difficulties associated with these non-kin, nonvoluntary relationships. Mother-in-law/daughter-in-law (MIL/DIL) relationships face unique challenges, as these women compete for the position of “kinkeeper,” or the person who manages relationships throughout the family. When MIL/DIL relationships are characterized by conflict and negative feelings toward one another, the family system suffers. To better understand the implications of “high conflict” MIL/DIL relationships on entire families, 27 DILs were interviewed about the turning points they had experienced with their MILs and the repercussions of the MIL/DIL relationship throughout the family system. Nine turning point categories emerged inductively from the data, along with several consequences for relationships throughout the family system, including DIL/husband, MIL/grandchildren, and husband/mother. Findings indicate high conflict MIL/DIL relationships do not just lead to negative outcomes for the two women involved, but also for other members across the family system.
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Whitney Allison, "“You’re Not Part of the Family”: Understanding the Turning Points and Family System Consequences of High Conflict Mother-/Daughter-in-Law Relationships" (2016). Communication. 93.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/communication/93
Rights
NDSU Policy 190.6.2
Rights Link
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf
Handle Identifier
https://hdl.handle.net/10365/25667