Maternal Influences on Daughters ’ Gender Role Attitudes Carine T. G. M. Ex and Jan M. A. M. Janssens 1 Institute of Family Studies‚ The Netherlands This study concerns the gender role attitudes of girls. These attitudes included their ideas on motherhood as well as their ideas on female roles in general. We examined whether the relations between mothers’ employment status and their level of education ‚ and daughters ’ gender role attitudes were mediated by mothers’ own gender role attitudes and child-rearing style. In this study ‚ 165 adolescent girls and their mothers participated. Overall‚ the data demonstrate the importance of mothers in the development of daughters’ gender role attitudes. A mother’ s child-rearing style as well as her own gender role attitudes do influence the gender role attitudes a daughter develops. Level of education and mothers’ employment have indirect effects. The importance of mothers as socialization agents in the gender role de- velopment of their children has been emphasized in various psychological theories (Arditti ‚ Godwin ‚ & Scanzoni ‚ 1991; Starrels 1992). In both social learning and psychoanalytical theories‚ the relationship between mothers and especially their daughte rs has received attention (Boyd ‚ 1989). Since mothers and daughters are involve d with one another on many fronts by virtue of their gender (Curtis ‚ 1991) ‚ daughte rs’ gender role attitudes may be expected to be infuenced by the ideas on gender roles a mother com- municates as well as the parenting behavior she practices. The ideas a mother holds and the parental practices she employs may differ with her social background ‚ as indicate d by her employment status and level of edu- cation. In this study‚ we analyzed with a comprehensive LISREL model whether the relations between a mother’ s employment status and level of Sex Roles‚ Vol. 38‚ Nos. 3/4‚ 1998 171 0360-0025/98/0200-0171$15.00/0 Ó 1998 Plenum Publishing Corporation 1 To whom reprint requests should be addressed at Institute of Family Studies‚ University of Nijmegen‚ Postbox 9104 ‚ 6500 HE Nijmegen ‚ The Netherlands.