cultural variations

• Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) conducted a meta-analysis of studies using the strange situation to investigate

  variations in attachment patterns between different cultures and within the same culture. They looked at 32 studies which were

  conducted in 8 different countries, giving results for 1,990 children.
• It was found that secure attachment was the most common type across all cultures, but with varying proportions, ranging from 75% in the Britain to 50% in China. Insecure-resistant was overall the least common type although the proportions ranged from 3% in Britain to 30% in Israel. Insecure-avoidant attachments were observed most commonly in Germany and least commonly in Japan. Overall, the findings indicate that secure attachment appears to be the norm across cultures, supporting Bowlby’s proposal of attachment being innate and universal, but they also indicate that cultural practices have an influence on attachment type.
• Furthermore, it could be argued that the study looked at variation between countries rather than cultures. It is possible that a sample might over-represent a particular group within a country, such as those living in poverty, particularly when only one study was used in the country (such as the UK, China and Sweden where only one study was included). For example, one study found that distributions of attachment type in Tokyo (an urban setting) were similar to

  Western studies, whereas a rural sample showed high levels of insecure-resistant infants. This therefore limits the extent to which the findings of the meta-analysis can be seen as evidence of cultural variations, as the studies may not be representative of the country as a whole.
• The application of the strange situation to other cultures might not always be appropriate as different child-rearing practices could lead to attachments being identified as insecure when this is not actually the case. For example, the study found a greater number of insecure-avoidant infants in Germany, but this may be due to German mothers valuing and encouraging independent behaviour rather than being insensitive, meaning that the insecure label might not be appropriate. This is therefore an example of an imposed etic as an attachment measure developed in one culture is then imposed on others without sufficient consideration being given to its appropriateness due to cultural differences in parenting styles.
• A strength of this research is that most of the studies were carried out by indigenous psychologists who are from the same cultural background as the participants. For example, Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg included a German study by German researchers and a study in Japan by Japanese researchers. This means that potential cross-cultural problems, such as misunderstanding language or having difficulty explaining instructions, can be avoided. This therefore means that the data collected should be valid as the participants and researchers would have been able to communicate effectively.
• However, there could be issues with cultural variation studies. Its possible that their research may have been affected by difficulties with the collection of data due to language and cultural differences. This therefore limits the validity of some of the research into cultural variations in attachment, as when this is conducted by non-indigenous researchers the data may have been affected by bias and difficulty in cross-cultural communication.
• Study done with Italian babies found that there was an increase in insecure-avoidant attachment styles, than when compared to previous generations, aligning with the shift in social culture