Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)

1. Carried out a meta-analysis on studies of attachment in different countries

   • They used the Strange Situation Test
     • This may not be the best tool to use as it has a Western cultural bias and assumes behaviour will have the same significance in all cultures

2. Findings

   • Secure attachment is the most common type of attachment in eight countries
   • The common insecure attachment in western countries was avoidant
     • In non-western countries the common insecure attachment type was resistant
   • The lowest % of secure attachment was found in China
     • The highest % of secure attachment was found in Great Britain

3. Conclusions

   • There may be universal characteristics that underpin attachment
     • This may be the result of the mass media which spreads ideas about how to parent across the world
   • The variation in attachment within cultures was greater than the variation between cultures
     • This means it is difficult to make accurate cross cultural comparisons

4. Grossman and Grossman (1991)

   • High proportion of avoidant children in Germany, as German parents seek independent, non-clingy infants

5. Fox (1977)

   • Studied infants raised in an Israeli Kibbutz by a foster mother. Infants appeared strongly attached to parent despite spending little time with them.