FATHERS AND AUTONOMY IN WOMEN

Exactly what constitutes “success” for women begs further definition. There appear to be several kinds of success, although here we will discuss only three models mainly characteristic of white middle-class or upper-middle-class college women. Some women achieve success in the development of personal talents at the same time that they enjoy viable, intimate relationships with men, women. and children. Other women have vigor and imagination in the areas of human learning and the professions but proceed ineptly in more intimate human relationships. Still others are women who see themselves as productive mainly in their homes and communities and prefer such success to paid employment. From 1961 to 1965 we conducted intensive interviews with 49 able college women at the Institute for the Study of Human Problems at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. These women were a random sample of a much larger group of students we studied with use of psychological tests and questionnaire selfreports of behavior and attitudes. ’ The 49 women were divided into eight subgroups on the basis of clinically derived evaluations of autonomy and conflict. Three of the subgroups epitomized, respectively, women who seemed destined for the three types of success outlined above. About a fourth of the interview sample entered the university with enthusiasm about commitment to scientific careers. They were the products of their high schools’ responsiveness to the “sputnik” challenge. Only about one-half continued in the sciences, and of this group several had lowered their aspirations regarding occupational goals. Since our research dealt with students interested in a variety of fields, the emphasis will be on success for able college women rather than primarily for women scientists. Less than ten years ago, many women students appeared to restrict themselves regarding interests not directly related to role development as wives and mothers. Those students who were relatively free to concern themselves with development as persons instead of focusing primarily on feminine roles we described as Autonomous; other major groups were designated Moderately Autonomous and Least Autonomous. The degree of autonomy and the amount of conflict students experienced seemed closely linked to their relationship with their fathers, although other factors also were important. Of the three subgroups on which I shall concentrate, Autonomous Developers had relatively positive identifications with both parents and envisaged lives combining growth-producing marital relationships with personal development. They placed less emphasis on careers than on personal growth and the development of talent. The “Supercompetents,” on the other hand, strongly desired achievement in careers but encountered difficulties in personal relationships. These students had special difficulties with aloof and perfectionistic fathers. The Least Autonomous women students’ definition of success involved vicarious identification with successful husbands and successful children. Their fathers’ role primarily consisted in supporting the mother as she primed the daughter for success in marital sweepstakes.