Similarities of regulatory focus among mothers and daughters of different ages

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the similarity in chronic regulatory focus (promotion/prevention) among mothers and daughters of young, middle, and older ages. A survey was conducted using the shortened 10-item form of the Japanese version of the promotion/prevention focus scale, and 77 sets of grandmothers (77.79 ± 5.61 years), their daughters (49.26 ± 4.12 years), and their granddaughters (20.17 ± 3.89 years) were studied as a part of the analysis. I compared scores on the promotion/prevention focus scale between grandmothers and their daughters (older age group) and granddaughters and their mothers (younger age group). The results show that the strength of a daughters’ promotion and prevention focus was similar to that of their mothers’ in the younger age group. On the other hand, only the strength of daughters’ prevention focus was similar to that of their mothers’ in the older age group. The results of this study suggest that daughters may be similar to their mothers, as they age, in their strategies to adapt to changes that focus on loss and risk.