Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine how friendships among mothers change over time. The interviewees were nine mothers who became close friends with other mothers when their children were young and maintained close friendships after their children grew up, i.e., after they reached the age of 18 or older. The recorded narratives were analyzed using KH Coder for quantitative text analysis. Two aspects were extracted: “changes” and “no changes (maintained).” Regarding the former, the results showed that as the children grew up, both the family’s daily schedule and the topics of conversation among mom-friends shifted from child-centered to self-centered, and that the mothers’ perceptions of their relationships shifted from those of childcare providers to independent individuals. Regarding the latter, “mutual trust,” “sense of security,” and “being equal and mutually beneficial” were consistent items with no change, indicating that mothers recognize that long-term friendships in which they enjoy their children’s growth and support each other in raising their children are valuable steps toward achieving personal growth that is difficult to obtain retrospectively. In conclusion, mom-friendships that have built trust over a long period of time provide mothers with different opinions and perspectives from their own, as they respect each other’s perspectives.
