Mothers' and daughters' perceptions of the discretionary spending during early adolescence

This qualitative study explored mothers' and daughters' perceptions of the discretionary spending during early adolescence. Fifty participants consisting of 25 mothers and 25 daughters took part in 10 focus group sessions. Participants were recruited through personal invitations and referrals from community centers and churches located in North Central Texas. The findings of the study indicated that the mothers' mixed reactions to their daughters' discretionary spending varied from being satisfied to dissatisfied. Although some of the daughters did not make wise choices in their use of money, the mothers' spending accountability was met with the expectation that the daughters' would spend money wisely. Candid statements from the daughters indicated that some saw themselves as being wise with their money while others indicated that they needed help with their spending. The mothers saw themselves as being the most influential in their daughters discretionary spending even above the peer influence.