Cultural Variations- Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg

• A01:

  van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1998) carried out a meta-analysis combining the findings of 32 other studies of the strange situation from a variety of countries and based on the observation of over 2000 children.
• Results:

  GERMANY

  3 studies

  Secure -56.6%

  Avoidant -35.3%

  Resistant -8.1%

  
  

  ISRAEL

  2 studies

  Secure- 64.4%

  Avoidant 6.8%

  Resistant 28.8%

  
  

  JAPAN

  2 studies

  Secure 67.7%

  Avoidant 5.2%

  Resistant 27.1%

  
  

  CHINA

  1 study

  Secure -50%

  Avoidant-25%

  Resistant-25%

  
  

  USA

  18 studies

  Secure-64.8%

  Avoidant-21.1%

  Resistant- 14.1%

  
  

  GREAT BRITAIN

  1 study

  Secure -75%

  Avoidant -22.2%

  Resistant-2.8%
• Conclusions:

  - Secure attachment was most common and generally insecure resistant was the least common

  - Avoidant attachment was more common in Western individualistic cultures and resistant in collectivist non-western cultures

  - the similarities in attachment across cultures implies that there may be some innate(nature) aspects of attachment (secure attachment)

  
  

  There was more variation between the studies within countries than between countries , therefore suggest that cultural differences play a significant role in attachment such as different child rearing practices (differences in attachment across cultures implies that there may be some sort of environmental (nurture) aspect of attachment; such as different parenting styles in different cultures
• EVAL: SUP EV Other studies of Cultural variations: SIMONELLA(2014) Italy- may lack temporal validity due to the changing nature of family life in the modern word


  P-Simonella

  E-found using that 50% were Secure and 36% were insecure avoidant (a lower rate of secure attachment than what has been found in other studies and the number of avoidant infants had risen).

  E-suggested to be because of a change in family dynamic and cultural changes e.g. an increase of mothers of very young children working long hours and using paid childcare instead.

  L-Therefore, this supports Van Ijzendoorn's and Kroonenberg's study because it suggests that culture influences attachment
• EVAL: Other studies of Cultural Variations: JIN 2012 Korea

  (To compare the proportions of attachment types in Korea to other studies)- used to assess 87 children

  
  

  P-Jin et al. Found that the overall proportions of insecure and secure babies were similar to those in most countries , with most infants being secure

  E-However, more of those classified as insecurely attached were resistant and only one held was avoidant

  L- this supports Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's study as it demonstrates the similarities in cultural variation in attachment and the distribution is also similar to that of Israel+Japan (have similar child-rearing style)
• A03: Generalisability

  P- One strength is that it has a large sample

  E- this is because the combination of results of attachment studies carried out in different countries.In the meta-analysis carried out there is over 2000 babies and their primary caregiver attachment figures

  E- Also, the Simonella and Jin studies had larger comparison groups from previous research, although their own samples were smaller

  L- therefore, this means that it has high population validity and can be easier to extrapolate findings back to the target population regarding attachment types

  C- however, it is more generalisable in America rather an other countries due to the multiple studies, even though there is generalisability America is a large country which means that there is more variation within the country and it may not be representative of/generalisable back to it fully
• A03: cultural bias


  P- One weakness is that there is a cultural bias

  E- this is because the Strange Situation has been highly criticised for being ethnocentric and whether Anglo-American theories can be applied to other cultures

  E- for example, the imposed etic would be the idea that separation anxiety and a lack of pleasure on reunion indicate an insecure attachment in the Strange Situation

  C-However, in Germany this behaviour may be seen more as independence than avoidance and hence not a sign of insecurity within that cultural context (Grossman and Grossman 1990)

  L- therefore this suggests that the method of assessment doesn't recognise all important factors such as cultural differences
• A03 - Lacks population validity


  P- one weakness is that it lacks population validity

  E- this is because many of the countries represented had only a few studies conducted and such a small sample is not representative of the whole population

  E- and it can be argued that the sample may have over-represented groups such as urban infants or those in poverty. The fact cultures are not homogenous is demonstrated by the findings that there was more variation within countries than between them
• A03: may lack internal validity the studies that they used


  P- this is because it is based off of the Strange Situation

  E- arguably the strange situation testing the babies responses to the 8 stages may be affected by their temperament/personality /neurodivergence(autism)

  E- therefore this means that it may not actually be measuring the quality of the attachment relationship between the baby and the primary caregiver

  C- However, as it is a meta-analysis the issue of internal validity resides in the use of their secondary data
• A03: Socially Sensitive


  P- Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg found that 50% of babies in China were securely attached

  E- both insecurely attached children added up are also 50%

  E- therefore this could lead to some racial criticism surround Chinese child-rearing practises