Cultural variation

• cultural variation in attachment study


  van ijzendoorn and kroosnberg conducted a study to look at the proportions of secure insecure - avoidant and insecure resistant attachment across a range of countries. They looked at the differences within the same country to get an idea of variations within a culture

  Located 32 studies of attachment where strange situation had been used to investigate the proportions of infants with different attachment types. Conducted in8 countries with 1990 children

  Highest % of securely attached was in great Britain as sow exploring behaviours as children go to nursery from a young age. Lowest % of securely attached is china.

  
  

  Highest % of insecure avoidant is in Germany because Germans leave kid alone form a young age so that they can be independent. Lowest % is japan.

  
  

  Highest % of insecure resistant is japan as aren't never leave the child alone so child reacts scared and surprised. Lowest % of insecure resistant is Sweden.
• Italian Study

  Simonella et al 2014 looked at whether babies if different attachment types still match previous studies. 76, 12 moth olds. 50% were secure and 36& were insecure avoidant. This is lower rate of secure attachment then had been found in other studies because mothers work long hours and have professional child care. Cultural differences can make a dramatic difference to patterns of secure and insecure attachment.
• Korean Study

  Jin et al 2012 compared proportions of attachment types in Korea to duo studies. 87 children used. Proportions of insecure and secure babies were similar to other countries-most infants secure but most insecurely attached and resistant only I child was avoidant. This is similar to japan as they have similar rearing techniques.
• Cultural variation in attachment evaluation


  +sample size (2000 babies used in total) is a strength because large samples increase internal validity by reducing the impact of anomalous results caused by bad methodology or very unusual participants

  -samples are not true representation of all cultures. E.g. van Ijendoorn and Kroonenberg claimed to study countries when in fact they studied cultures. In each country there are many different cultures with different children rearing techniques. An analysis by van Ijzendoorn and Sagi found that distributions of attachment type in Tokyo (urban setting) were similar to the western studies, whereas a more rural sample had an over representation of insecure resistant individuals.

  -method in 'strange situation' can be seen as biased. E.g. it is Anglo American so cannot be applied to other cultures. Trying to apply a theory or technique designed for one culture to another culture is known as imposed etic (cultural universal). E.g. etic may be the idea of lack of separation anxiety and lack of pleasure on reunion indicate an insecure attachment in the strange situation. In Germany this behaviour might be seen more as independence than avoidance

  -alternative explanations for cultural similarities. E.g. different cultural differences may reflect effect of mass media that other countries might not be exposed to. For instance on child rearing techniques

  -strange situation lacks validity as it might not measure attachment at all but rather looks at temperament