Cultural variations in attachment - Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg

What was the aim of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s study?

to find out if attachment styles differ between cultures

If attachment was innate and biological (nature) what would we expect to see in the meta-analysis?

very similar attachment behaviours around the world universally

If attachment was a result of culture and upbringing (nurture) what would we expect to see in the meta-analysis?

large differences in attachment behaviour from culture to culture

What method did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg use? (2)

a meta-analysis, on the results of 32 studies using the Strange Situation procedure to measure attachment behaviour

How many countries was the research based on?

8

Which Western cultures were included? (3)

USA, UK, Germany

Which non-Western cultures were included? (3)

Japan, China, Israel

How many children in total was the meta-analysis based on?

1990

Which country had the highest insecure avoidant attachment type percentage and what was it? (2)

West Germany, 35%

Which country had the highest secure attachment type percentage and what was it? (2)

UK, 75%

Which country had the highest insecure resistant attachment type percentage and what was it? (2)

Israel, 29%

What was the most common attachment type across all nations?

secure

Which insecure attachment type was most common in Western cultures?

insecure avoidant

Which insecure attachment type was most common in non-Western cultures?

insecure resistant

What other results did they find from the meta-analysis? (2)

variation within cultures was 1.5 greater than between cultures, so they found more differences in attachment styles and behaviours within and around a single country than between that country and another

What conclusion can be made from the meta-analysis related to nature? (2)

as secure attachment was the most common attachment style, it suggests that there may be universal characteristics in infant-caregiver interactions

What conclusion can be made from the meta-analysis related to nurture? (2)

the variables in insecure attachment around the world suggest that the culture must play some part, as some cultures have higher levels of some insecure attachment than others

What final conclusion can be drawn from the findings of the meta-analysis? (3)

the findings indicate it is inaccurate to believe that we can draw conclusions about one culture or country, we cannot oversimplify one culture, we should acknowledge the existence of subcultures due to the discovery of variation within cultures rather than between them