Transformations in family relationships at puberty are assumed to be due to the biological, social, and psychological changes of early adolescence. Little research has considered how the interplay between these processes underlies relational changes or ways that preexisting individual characteristics are linked to variations in the parent-child relationship during puberty. This interdisciplinary project examines several processes implicated in the perceptions of and actual behaviors exhibited in family relationships at puberty. These include responses to biological change, individual or familial characteristics (e.g., ethnic and racial solization), race/ethnicity, and changes in social cognitive processes, other social relationships. The project is conducted by coding videotaped interactions of Latino and African-American mothers and daughters. Survey data is also collected.GOALS OF THE PROJECT: Understand the pubertal processes that influence Latino and African American mother-daughter relationships, including endogenous biological changes as well as the social stimulus value of biological change to mothers' and daughters'.Understand associations between Latino and African American mother-daughter relationships at puberty and other developmental processes (e.g., gender, ethnic and racial identity).Understand associations between Latino and African American mother-daughter relationships at puberty and individual or familial characteristics (e.g., parenting behavior and interactional styles).Understand what messages Latino and African American pubertal girls receive about gender, ethnicity, and race from their parents and how these messages contribute to girls' accommodation to pubertal changes. Examine the discourse patterns in Latino and African American mother-daughter conversations about puberty and the impact of this communication on girls' responses to their developing bodies.