Understanding the Impact of Maternal Messages Given to Single, Educated African American Women about Relationships

This article investigates the messages that single, educated African American women acquired during their adolescence from their mothers about being single, attitudes about men and women, attitudes about education, and the importance of marriage. This study also examines the overall life satisfaction, self-esteem, and self-silencing behaviors of single, educated African American women. Results indicate that the educated African American female students received conflicting, dual messages from their mothers regarding gender roles and marriage. Implications include recognizing the importance of messages taught to African American daughters by their mothers in an effort to better understand the psychology of African American women.