Attachment - Cultural variations in attachment.

Attachment - Cultural variations in attachment.

1. some cross cultural studies supported Bowlbys view that attachment is universal

   • Fox
     • studied an isreali kibbitzim
       • Children are looked after in a metapelet(communal childrens centre)
         • the strange situation test showed the mother was still the infants primary attachment
   • Tronik
     • studied an African tribe, the efe, infants were looked after and fed by different women
       • they did sleep with their own mother
         • at six months the infants had one primary attachment to the mother.

2. some cross cultural studies show important cultural differences.

   • Takahashi
     • used ss on 60 middle class japanese infants and their mothers
       • similar response as Ainsworths findings in America
         • however no avoidant insecure attachments
           • 32% were resistant - insecure
             • Japanese infants were more disturbed to be left alone
               • the infant alone step was stopped for 90% of theinfants
                 • 80% may have been securely attached if the study was not cancelled.
   • Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
     • meta analysis
       • comparing the results of 32 studies in 8 different countries
         • country
           • USA
             • Isreal
               • Japan
                 • West germany
                   • 57
                     • 35
                       • 8
                 • 68
                   • 5
                     • 27
               • 64
                 • 7
                   • 29
             • 65
               • 21
                 • 14
           • secure
             • insecure - avoidant
               • insecure - resistant
     • they found variation within cultures is 1 and 1/2 times greater than between different cultures
       • securely attached was the highest across all cultures
     • Israel and Japan have less avoidant and more resistant attachments than West Germany.
     • Israel & Japan have similar % for insecure resistant attachments but probably for different reasons.
     • Infants brought up on Kibbutzim are not used to strangers and those in Japan are not used to separation from their mother.
     • It was concluded that the overall consistency in secure attachment suggests this may be a universal characteristic. However, cultural differences do exist which suggests child-rearing practices may affect attachment types.

3. Evaluation

   • Pros
     • Cons
       • cross culture similarities explained via media
         • false to see a conutry as a single culturre
           • The Strange Situation may be unsuitable for classifying attachment in different cultures. It reflects the norms & values of USA society and might therefore be considered an ethnocentric tool.
             • German children are encouraged to be independent but this is interpreted as avoidance behaviour. Israeli children are used to being separated from their mothers, but rarely see complete strangers. Japanese children are practically never separated from their mothers. In Israel & Japan the children’s behaviour is interpreted as resistant.