Cross-cultural Patterns of Attachment: A Meta-Analysis of the Strange Situation (Van IJzendoorn and Krronenberg, 1988) Flashcards
What was the aim of the meta analysis?
To investigate the similarities and differences in the ratio of attachment types in different countries
How many studies was data collected from?
32 separate studies carried out in 8 different countries
What procedure did all the studies follow?
The Strange Situation Procedure
Who did they exclude from the study when selecting data?
Studies that included children with special educational needs and any studies where the children were over 24 months
What was the most significant finding?
The prevalence of secure attachment was most common in all 8 countries
What significant cultural difference was found and why might this be the case?
Individualistic countries such as Germany had a high proportion of anxious avoidant attachments which could be due to the high value placed on independence
What did they find with Japan?
A high level of resistant attachment type was found - due to the collectivism and high value placed on dependency
What did they find about variation within and between cultures?
There was a one and a half times greater variation within a culture than between different cultures
What was their suggestion for the universal consistency of attachment?
The effects of the mass media which spread ideas about parenting so that children all over the world are exposed to similar influences
What was the main conclusion?
Significant variations in attachment cannot be accounted for by the application of a coding system as childrearing practices vary from culture to culture
Does it support the notion that secure attachment is good for healthy social and emotional development in children?
Yes but there were significant variations in the secure attachment type which could be due to the economic climate of the country, the education and cultural factors
What is the biggest weakness of this study?
The Strange Situation was created and tested in the USA, which means that it may be culturally biased (ethnocentric), as it will reflect the norms and values of American culture.
What is the biggest strength of the study?
They found similar results to that of Ainsworth suggesting that the findings are supported
What is a strength of doing a meta analysis?
Allows a broader range of data to be analysed that wouldn’t be as possible if all the data was collected in primary investigations due to cost and time
What is a weakness of doing a meta analysis?
Publication bias: studies that didn’t find what they were intending to find, i.e 70% Type Bs may not have been published leading to the exclusion of null results
