Van Ijzendoorn - cultural variations

Question 1

AO1

Answer 1

Van Ijzendoorn carried out a meta-analysis of the strange situation, comparing the results of 32 cross-cultural studies. He wanted to investigate patterns of attachment type both within and between cultures.
In total, 2000 children were studied.
Great Britain has the highest % of secure attachment (75%), and China had the lowest % of secure attachment (50%).
West Germany had the highest % of insecure-avoidant attachment (35%), and Japan had the lowest % of insecure-avoidant attachment (5%).
Israel had the highest insecure-resistant attachment (29%), and Great Britain had the lowest % of insecure-resistant attachment (3%).
The similarities in the findings from the different cultures, e.g. the majority of babies are securely attached suggest that there may be universal characteristics in forming attachments.
However the differences suggest that the different child rearing practices in different cultures have an impact on the type of attachment formed. E.g. in Japan, the low levels of insecure-avoidant attachments could be due to the fact that mothers will not leave their baby until they are 6.

Question 2

AO3 - lack of face validity (studied countries instead of cultures)

Answer 2

The study may lack face validity as it did not measure what it intended to measure. It claimed to be looking at cultural differences, but actually looked at the differences between countries. However, multiple different cultures can exist within the same country and this was unlikely to be acknowledged in Van Ijzendoorn’s research. Therefore, the research was more into studying the differences between countries and their attachment patterns rather than cultures.
However, high population validity, as the meta-analysis had a large sample size (2000). Therefore it is reliable.

Question 3

AO3 - imposed etic

Answer 3

The strange situation was designed by an American researcher and was based on a British theory. Therefore, there is a question over whether the use of these to try and understand different cultures is appropriate or not. So, it is an example of imposed etic. A researcher found that independence may be seen as positive rather than avoidance and hence not a sign of insecurity. Therefore, the attachment types may not be suitable in all cultures.

Question 4

AO3 - meta-analysis

Answer 4

As the study was a meta-analysis, there is less chance of bias confounding the results due to the use of secondary data. This is because Van Ijzendoorn did not carry out the research himself, so he could not have influenced the outcome in any way. This therefore increases the reliability of the findings.
However, due to secondary data, Van Ijzendoorn cannot be 100% confident as to the degree of precision exercised by the original researchers.