Cultural Variations In Attachment

Question 1

What did Van Ijzendoorn do?

Answer 1

Looked at proportions of secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant

1. Across a range of country’s
2. Within countries (variations within culture)

Question 2

What was the procedure

Answer 2

1. Located 32 studies of attachment where strange situation was used
2. 32 conducted across 8 countries (15 in USA)
3. 2000 children total
4. Meta-analysed
5. Results combined and weighed for sample size

Question 3

What were the findings

Answer 3

1. All countries secure as most common
2. 75% in UK, 50% in China
3. Insecure-resistant least common
4. 3% Uk, 30% Israel
5. Insure-avoidant most common in Germany, least in Japan
6. Variation within counties 150% higher than between
7. In US one place 46% secure, another 90%

Question 4

What were the two other studies into cultural variation

Answer 4

1. An Italian study (Simonella et al. 2014)

2. A Korean study (Jin et al. 2012)

Question 5

Describe the Italian study

Answer 5

1. Study to see if proportions match those of previous studies
2. 75, 1 year olds
3. Found 50% secure, 35% avoidant
4. Research suggests increasingly mothers work more so use professional child care
5. Suggest cultural changes make dramatic shift on attachment (would support bowlby)

Question 6

Large samples

Answer 6

1. Analysis of nearly 2000 babies attachment and their primary attachment figures
2. Italian and Korean also large sample
3. High interval validity by reducing impact of anomalous results caused by bad methodology

Question 7

SZ and attachment

Answer 7

Insecure associated with SZ

Question 8

Samples unrepresentative of culture

Answer 8

1. Claimed to study variations between cultures
2. In fact was between countries which have loads of different cultures in them
3. For instance Tokyo was similar to UK but rural japan had lots of insecure
4. Comparisons between country’s irrelevant and said culture within country should be specified

Question 9

Method of assessment is biased

Answer 9

1. Western design based on Bowlby a western theory
2. Can it be applied to other cultures attachment? Or is it imposed etic
3. For instance no separation anxiety in Germany not a bad thing there

Question 10

A Korean study

Answer 10

1. 90 children
2. Similar proportions to UK of secure
3. Though of those insecure all were resistant and only 1 avoidant
4. Similar to findings in Japan (same child rearing practices