Examined a set of mothers' descriptions and understandings of family values and behaviors across three generations. The informants were twelve mothers, from four different families, following a generational linearity of grandmother, mother and granddaughter. All of them were residents in the area of Passo Fundo/RS. By using a qualitative analysis based on a phenomenological theory, the continuities and discontinuities of behavior and ideas were interpreted in two perspectives: 1) new arrangement in the power of father and mother and in the family cohesion and 2) changing from collective to personal identity with an increasing in the space for self realization. Continuities were related to general principles as family ethics. In contrast, discontinuities happened according to contextual pressures in the practical aspects of family life.
Transgenerational-patterns; Intergenerational-relations; Phenomenology
