Ambitious mothers produce successful daughters

London, October 3: Behind every successful and self-confident woman there is an ambitious mother, this is the message given by a new study. Ambitious mothers can significantly boost self confidence in their children, especially daughters, suggests a new study by researchers at University of London.

The study claims that mothers’ expectations from their daughters, is what influences the latter’s success in future.

The research, carried out by Eirini Flouri and colleagues from the University of London's Institute of Education, has found that girls whose mothers had high hopes for their future felt more self-confident by the age of 30.

To investigate how maternal influence affects girls’ future success, Flouri and colleagues analyzed data from a study of more than 3,000 children born in 1970. To check the mother's belief in her child's capabilities, Flouri’s team asked the mothers of 10 years old children to predict the age at which their child would leave school.

After comparing this information with an assessment of the children's self-confidence when they were 30, the researchers found that those women whose mothers predicted that their daughters would continue their studies developed self confidence when they were thirty.

The study found the direct link between women’s self esteem and their mothers’ belief in them, even after the factors like the children's intellectual ability and their parents' financial status were taken into account.

It is thought that mothers have higher-than-normal expectations for their daughters' self-control abilities than their sons.

According to Kairen Cullen, a spokeswoman for the British Psychological Society and an educational psychologist, some previous studies had suggested that children relate strongly to the same gender parent.

However, she said, "It would be fascinating to see what effect fathers' expectations have on daughters - I have a sense that fathers' expectations could have an effect on both genders."

"Mothers may feel it's more important to push and encourage their daughters and that could relate to their own situation and background," she said.

The findings of the study have been published in the 'Journal of Educational Psychology'.