Cultural variations in attachment

• Outline research into cultural variations in attachment.

  Van Ijzendoorn conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies across 8 different countries including Great Britain, Germany, Japan etc.

  All of these studies had used the strange situation to assess infants’ attachment types.

  Van Ijzendoorn compared variations in attachment both within and between cultures.
• Outline research into cultural variations in attachment.

  Van Ijzendoorn found that the secure attachment type was the most common in all of the countries studied while the insecure-resistant attachment type was the least common.Van Ijzendoorn also found that variations within cultures were 1.5x greater than variations between cultures.
• Outline research into cultural variations in attachment. 


  Great Britain had the highest rates of secure attachments, Japan had the highest rates of insecure-resistant attachments, and Germany had the highest rates of insecure-avoidant attachments – suggesting that attachments do vary across cultures.
• Evaluate research into cultural variations in attachment: meta-analyses. 


  E.g. Van ljzendoorn's research involved collecting the findings from over 32 studies. This is a strength because by considering the findings of multiple studies, the sample sizes/data are larger and, as a result, the conclusions about cultural variations in attachment are more likely to be generalisable.
• Evaluate research into cultural variations in attachment: highly controlled environments. 


  E.g. Van ljzendoorn collected the findings of studies that had used the strange situation procedure - a standardised controlled observation consisting of operationalised behavioural categories such as separation and stranger anxiety. This is a strength because it means that the findings across the different studies can be effectively compared without the risk of methodological flaws/extraneous variables impacting the conclusions.
• Evaluate research into cultural variations in attachment: relied upon American methods of assessing attachment types. 


  A lot of the research has used the strange situation procedure which was developed in the USA. This is a limitation because it means its analysis of attachment types is based on American culture. Van ljzendoorn found that Germany had the highest rates of insecure-avoidant attachments which led to German mothers being labelled as insensitive when they just encourage independence. False conclusions may be drawn about parenting styles in different cultures.
• Evaluate research into cultural variations in attachment: measuring differences between countries rather than cultures. 


  Van ljzendoorn claimed to measure cultural variations in attachment when in reality they were making comparisons between countries. This is a limitation because there can be many cultures within a country that all have their own child-rearing practices. Tokyo had attachment types similar to Western countries while a more rural setting in Japan had more insecure-resistant attachment types.