cultural variations

Question 1

what are cultural variations in attachment?

Answer 1

differences in norms and values about childrearing and how parents are expected to behave.

Question 2

what was Van Ijzendor’s and Kroonenberg’s aim ? (1988)

Answer 2

study to investigate the proportion of secure, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-resistant attachment across a range of countries.

Question 3

What else did Van Ijzendor’s and Kroonenberg look at?

Answer 3

They also looked at the difference within the same country to get an idea of the variations within a culture.

Question 4

what was the procedure for cultural variations?

Answer 4

• carried out a meta-analysis of the findings from 32 studies carried out in 8 different countries using the strange situation to measure attachment
  -32 studies yielded results for 1,900 children.
  -All studies at least 35 mother and infant pairs with infants below 2 years of age. The research included individualist cultures (e.g., US, Great Britain, Germany) and collectivist cultures (e.g. Japan, China, Israel):

Question 5

What was the overall attachment?

Answer 5

Overall attachment was: secure 67%, insecure-avoidant 21% and insecure-resistant 12%.

Question 6

what was the most common attachment type?

Answer 6

-Secure attachment
- proportion varied from 75% in Britain to 50% in China.

Question 7

What was the overall least common type of attachment?

Answer 7

• Insecure-resistant was overall the least common type although it was found more in Israel, Japan, and China.

Question 8

Where were insecure attachments observed the most?

Answer 8

germany

Question 9

Where were insecure avoidant attachments observed the most?

Answer 9

Israel and Japan (collectivist countries at the time)

Question 10

what was an interesting finding?

Answer 10

-the variation within the same country was actually 1.5 times greater than those between countries.
-In the USA, for example, one study found only 46% securely attached compared to one sample as high as 90%.

Question 11

what is the conclusion for cultural variations?

Answer 11

-the global pattern of attachment across cultures appears to be similar to that found in the U.S.
-supports the idea that secure attachment is ‘best’ for healthy social and emotional development.
-Secure attachment seems to be the norm in a wide range of cultures, confirming Bowlby’s idea that attachment is innate and universal.