Cultural Variations

• Cultural variations : research

  Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg aimed to investigate cross-cultural variations in attachment using The Strange Situation.
• Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg : Procedure


  Meta-analysis of 32 SS studies across 8 countries with 1990 children. 15 studies were in the USA.
• Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg : Findings


  Secure attachment was the most common in all countries. Insecure-avoidant was the second most common, specifically in Germany. In collectivist cultures, rates for insecure-resistant were higher than in Ainsworth's original study within individualistic cultures. Variations within countries were more likely that between countries (150% more).
• Jin et al


  Conducted a study in Korea comparing attachment types between 87 infants. Found majority securely attached, then insecure-resistant, but only one child being insecure-avoidant.
• Conclusions

  Attachment being mostly secure in all countries suggest it is innate, however, differences between types of cultures shows that cultural attitudes and practices can impact attachment.
• Cultural variations : Strength

  By using a large sample size, there is a reduced likelihood of anomalous results caused by methodological issues. This results in high levels of internal validity and reliability across cultures.
• Cultural variations : Weakness

  The samples represent the countries, as confounding variables such as location and poverty may have a significant impact. Means comparisons between countries have little meaning and samples should represent cultures within countries.
• Cultural Variations : Weakness


  There is imposed etic, as using a test designed for one culture and applying it to another means that behaviour observed may not have the same meanings in different cultural contexts so comparisons are meaningless. (E.g. Germany mothers desire independent children hence high levels of insecure-avoidant)