Cultural variations in attachment

• what are the two studies into cultural variations in attachment

  van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg and simonelli et al.
• procedure of van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg: meta-analysis

  • looked at the proportions of secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachments across a range of countries. also looked at the differences within the same countries to get an idea of variations within a culture
  • found 32 studies of attachment where the strange situation had been used. these were conducted in 8 countries, 15 in the USA. overall the studies yielded results for 1,990 children.
  • data were meta-analysed, results being combined and weighted for sample size.
• findings & conclusions of van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg: meta-analysis

  secure attachment was the most common classification in all countries but ranged from 50% in china to 75% in Britain.
• what did van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg find about cultural differences in the distribution of insecure attachment

  in individualist cultures rates of insecure-resistant attachment were similar to Ainsworth's original sample (all under 14%) but this was not true for the collectivist samples from china, Japan and Israel where rates were above 25% (and where rates of insecure-avoidant attachment were reduced.

  this suggests that there were cultural differences in the distribution of insecure attachment.
• what did van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg find about variations of results within the same countries?

  variations between results of studies within the same countries were actually 150% greater than those between countries.

  in the USA, one study found 46% securely attached compared to one sample as high at 90%.
• procedure of simonelli et al.: an Italian key study

  • these researchers assessed 76 12-month olds using the strange situation to see whether the proportion of attachment types still matched previous studies in italy
  • mothers were reasonable varied in terms of their education levels (57% university degree, 40% high school, 2% didn't finish high school) and their professions (48% employees, 13% professionals, 39% didn't work or worked part time).
• findings & conclusions of simonelli et al.: an Italian key study

  • simonelli et al. found that 50% were secure, with 36% insecure-avoidant. this was a lower rate of secure attachment than found in previous studies
  • the researchers suggested this was due to the increasing numbers of mothers working long hours and using professional childcare. cultural changes can make dramatic differences in the patterns of attachment.
• strength of meta-analysis: very large samples

  in van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's meta-analysis there was a totally of nearly 2000 babies and their primary attachment figures. even simonelli et al.'s study had large comparison groups from previous research, although their own samples were smaller. this is a strength because large samples increase internal validity by reducing the impact of biased methodology or very unusual participants.
• limitation: strange situation biased towards British/american culture

  the strange situation designed by an American researcher based on a British theory. this theory and assessment may not be applicable to other cultures. trying to apply a theory or technique designed for one culture to another is called imposed etic (cultural universals) which disregards the notion of cultural emic (cultural uniqueness). the idea that a lack of pleasure on reunion indicates insecure attachment as an imposed etic. in Germany this behaviour might be seen more as independence than avoidance and not insecurity.
• limitation of strange situation: temperament may be a confounding variable

  ainsworth assumed that the main influence on separation and stranger anxiety was the quality of the attachment. kagan suggests that temperament (the genetic personality of the child) is a more important influence on behaviour in the strange situation. the strange situation may actually be measuring genetic differences in temperament between cultures rather than attachment/parenting style.
• limitation: alternative explanations for similarities between cultures

  bowlby's explanation for cultural similarities was that attachment is innate and universal so produces the same king of behaviours all over the word. van ijzendoorn and kroonenberg proposed an alternative possibility. they suggest that small cross-cultural similarities may reflect the effects of the mass media. many books and TV programmes are broadcast around the world and create parenting norms, so similarities in child-rearing have become more common.