Summary
Summary Cultural variations in attachment 16 marker
A 16 marker on cultural variations in attachment | Based on the AQA A-Level Year 1 Text Book
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Cultural variations in attachmentVan Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg carried out a meta-analysis, looking at the proportions of secure,
insecure-resistant and insecure-avoidant attachments across different countries. They also looked at
the differences within the same countries to know how attachment styles vary across cultures. The
two researchers found 32 studies of attachment when the strange situation had been used. 15 of
the studies were in the US, and there were eight different countries included in the study. There
were almost 2000 children involved in the study. The result of the study was meta-analysed,
combined and weighted for sample size. The analysis found that secure was the most common
attachment, but there was a range. 50% of children in China were securely attached and 75% in
Britain were securely attached. The study also found that in individualist cultures, the rates of
insecure-resistant attachment were similar to the original sample. However, this was different in
collectivist cultures such as China, Japan and Israel where the rates were above 25%, however, rates
of insecure-avoidant attachment were reduced. However, variation within countries was higher than
the variation between countries. Variation within countries was 150% greater, with one sample
finding only 46% of US children being securely attached, with other samples at 90% in the US.
Other studies have been carried out, such as researcher, Simonelli et al. who assessed 76 babies in
Italy using the strange situation to compare whether it matched other studies carried out in Italy.
Simonelli found that 50% of babies were securely attached, and 36% were insecure-avoidant. The
lower level of securely attached babies might have been because of longer work hours and more use
of childcare. This shows how cultural changes can affect attachment types. Another researcher, Jin
et al. compared the attachment types of 87 Korean babies in proportion to other studies. They found
that secure and insecure attachment was similar to other studies. However, they found that only
one baby from their sample was insecure-avoidant. This data is similar to Japan, which might be
because they have similar attitudes towards children.
A strength of cultural variation studies is the use of indigenous researchers. This means that the
researchers were from the same country as the participants, such as having German participants
observed by German researchers. This meant that miscommunication between participants and
researchers can be reduced, such as the instructions. This means that there is a high chance of
successful communication between the participants, increasing the validity of the study.
However, a counterpoint is that this might not have been true with all the research. American
researchers investigated the Efé in Zaire. This means that some of the research had a
miscommunication, and therefore might include errors and lack validity.
A limitation is that there might have been confounding variables. The studies might have been
carried out differently in each country. This is because since they weren't carried out by Ainsworth,
they might have had some different characteristics, and the participants might have had different
qualities, such as being from different social classes and different ages. Environmental factors might
have also been a problem, such as a smaller room might mean that the babies feel more confident
to explore. This means that the assessments of validity in different countries might not tell us that
much about the different types of attachment.
Another limitation is that the strange situation might be useless if it was used in a different context.
The strange situation was designed in the US, where lack of reunion means insecure attachments.
However, in Germany, this would be a sign of independence. This means that the strange situation is
meaningless in other cultures and countries where the social norms are different.
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