cultural variations in attachment Flashcards
what key study did Van Ijzendoorn do
Marinus Van Ijzendoorn and Pieter Kroonenberg (1988) conducted a study to look at the proportions of secure,insecure - avoidant and insecure- resistant attachments across a range of countries
They also looked at the differences within the same countries to get an idea of variations within culture
what was the procedure in Van Ijzendoorn study
the researcher loacted 32 studies of attachment where the Strange Situation had been used to investigate the proportions of infants with different attachments
These 32 studies were conducted in eight countries; 15 were in the USA
Overall the 32 studies yielded results for 1,990 children
The data for thise 32 studies were meta - analysed, results being combined and weighed for sample size
what were the findings from the study
There was wide variation between the proportion of attachment types in different studies
In all countries secure attachment was the most common classification
However, the proportion varied from 75% in Britain to 50% in China
Insecure - resistant was overall the least common type although the proportions ranged from 3% in Britain to around 30% in Israel
Insecure - avoidant attachments were observed most commonly Germany and least commonly in Japan
An interesting finding was that variations between results of studies within the same country were actually 150% greater than those between countries
In the USA, e.g. one study found only 46% securely attached compared to one sample s high as 90%
what are the other studies into cultural variations
an Italian study
a Korea study
what was the aims of the Italian study
Simonella et al (2014) conducted a study in Italy to see whether the proportions of babies of different attachment types still matched those found in previous studies
what were the procedures of the Italian study
the researcher assessed 76 12 - month olds using the Strange Situation
what are the findings from the Italian study
They found 50% were secure, 36% insecure - avoidant which is a lower rate of secure attachment than has been found in many studies
The researcher suggest this is because increasing numbers of mothers of very young children work long hours and use professional childcare
what do the findings from the Italian study suggest
These findings suggest that cultural changes can make a dramatic difference to patterns of secure and insecure attachment
what are the aims of the Korean study
Jin et al (2012) conducted a study to compare the proportions of attachment types in Korea to other studies
what was the procedures of the Korean study
The Strange Situation was used to assess 87 children
The overall proportions of insecure and secure babies were similar to those in most countries, with most infants being secure
However, more of those classified as insecurely attached were resistant and only one child was avoidant
The distribution is similar to the distribution of attachment types of found in Japan (Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg 1988)
Since Japan and Korea have similar child - rearing styles similarity might be explained in terms of child - rearing style
what was the aims of the Korean study
The overall proportions of insecure and secure babies were similar to those in most countries, with most infants being secure
However, more of those classified as insecurely attached were resistant and only one child was avoidant
The distribution is similar to the distribution of attachment types of found in Japan (Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg 1988)
Since Japan and Korea have similar child - rearing styles similarity might be explained in terms of child - rearing style
what were the conclusions drawn from the different cultural
secure attachments seems to be the or in a wide range of cultured, supporting Bowlby’s idea that attachment is innate and universal and this type is the universal norm
However, the research also clearly shows that cultures practices have an influence on attachment type
