cultural variation in attachment

cultural variation in attachment

1. studies of cultural variations

   • Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg
     • looked at proportions of the 3 types of attachments in different countries
       • procedure
         • meta analysed 32 studies of the strange situation
           • 8 countries
           • 15/32 in the USA
           • 1990 children
       • findings
         • secure was most common
         • insecure resistant least common - mainly in collective
         • insecure avoidant - mainly in individualistic

2. other places

   • Italy
     • Simonella
       • 76, 12 month olds
         • 50% secure
         • 36% insecure avoidant
         • more mothers working longer hours
           • cultural differences make a big difference
   • Korea
     • Jin
       • 87 children
         • similar to Japan
           • mainly secure
           • or insecure resistant
   • conclusion
     • secure is the norm
       • supporting Bowlby that attachment is innate
     • still differences depending where it is

3. evaluation

   • large samples
     • combined results
       • increases internal validity
         • reduces anomalous results
   • unrepresentative to culture
     • comparisons between countries not cultures
       • within countries many different cultures
     • e.g.
       • urban Japan = similar to Western countries
       • rural = more insecure resistant
   • method of assessment in biased
     • imposed etic
       • applying a foreign technique/ theory to another country

4. evaluation +

   • alternative explanation for cultural similarity
     • Bowlby = attachment are innate (should be the same everywhere)
     • Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg
       • differences due to media
   • the strange situation lacks validity
     • Kagan
       • suggested = attachment is down to temperament
         • is the strange situation simply measuring anxiety