cultural variations

• key study: Van Ijzendoorn + Kroonenburg (1988)

  procedure:

  • conducted a meta-analysis of 32 attachment behaviour studies, examining over 2000 strange situation classifications in 8 countries
  • goal was to determine if inter-cultural differences exist, referring to differences in findings within the same culture
• findings

  • found small differences between cultures and countries, with secure attachment being the most common classification in every country
  • insecure-avoidant attachment was the second most common, expect for Israel and Japan, which were classed as collectivists
  • within cultures, variation was 1.5 times greater than between cultures
• conclusion

  • meta-analysis reveals that global patterns of attachment are similar to those found in the US, with secure attachment being the most common form across all cultures
  • this supports the belief that secure attachment is the best for healthy social and emotional development, and that attachment is an innate biological process
• cultural differences

  • grossman + grossman (1991) found higher levels of insecure attachment in German infants due to different childbearing practices
  • German culture maintains interpersonal distance, preventing infants from engaging in proximity-seeking behaviours
• cultural differences - continued

  • takahashi (1990) found similar rates of secure attachment in MC Japanese infants and mothers but found high rates of insecure-resistant attachment (32%)
  • Japanese infants were more distressed when left alone, indicating cultural variations, the strongest attachments are formed with infant's mother
  • differences in attachment patterns can be related to cultural attitudes and practices