Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988) Cross-Cultural Patterns of Attachment (Edexcel A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes
Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988) Cross-Cultural Patterns of Attachment
Background
Culture has traditionally been understood in psychology through the lens of a dichotomy between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Individualistic cultures, such as the USA, value independence and emphasise personal achievement regardless of group goals, resulting in a strong sense of competition between individuals. Collectivistic cultures, on the other hand, value cooperation and working towards a family or group goal.
Marinus van IJzendoorn and Pieter Kroonenberg sought to investigate cross-cultural variation in attachment types through meta-analysis, a research method that combines statistical information from a wide range of studies to identify patterns.
In a meta-analysis, researchers do not collect primary data themselves but instead analyse data already gathered by other researchers. This approach allows for examination of patterns across multiple studies, providing a broader perspective than any single investigation could achieve.
Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg analysed research studies that used the Strange Situation Procedure to examine the external validity of attachment types recorded in other cultures. Ainsworth identified three attachment types: secure attachment (Type B), anxious-avoidant (Type A), and anxious-resistant (Type C). Ainsworth et al. (1978) found that the attachment type ratio in America was 20% Type A, 70% Type B and 10% Type C. The researchers questioned whether this result might be similar in all countries, given that different countries have different childrearing strategies and beliefs about childrearing.
Aim
To investigate similarities and differences in the ratio of attachment types in different countries.
Procedure
Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) conducted a meta-analysis of data collected from 32 separate studies carried out in eight different countries. In total, the research represented 1990 Strange Situation classifications. All of the studies used the Strange Situation test to measure attachment type as identified by Mary Ainsworth.
Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg looked for similarities and differences in attachment types. In selecting data, they excluded studies that included children with special educational needs in their sample, any studies with overlapping samples and any studies where the children were over 24 months.
Exclusion Criteria Applied: The researchers ensured data quality by excluding:
- Studies with children who had special educational needs
- Studies with overlapping samples (to avoid counting the same children twice)
- Studies where children were over 24 months old
Findings
Cross-cultural patterns
A key finding of the meta-analysis was the prevalence of secure attachment as the most common type in all eight countries. However, there were notable cultural differences.
Cultural Pattern: Germany (Individualistic Culture)
In Germany, a high proportion of anxious-avoidant attachment was found. This could be because German parents place a high value on independence, and so children in the Strange Situation show less distress in the absence of the mother.
Cultural Pattern: Japan (Collectivistic Culture)
In Japan, a high level of resistant attachment was evident. This could be due to the high value placed on dependency within the culture. Japanese children are rarely away from the mother and so obviously become very distressed by being away from the mother in the Strange Situation test.
Intra-cultural variation
Another important finding of Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg was that the variation in attachment types was one-and-a-half times greater within cultures than between cultures. In other words, there was a greater difference in attachment types in studies from the same culture than there were in studies from different cultures. One of the German samples was as different from another German sample as it was from a US sample.
Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg suggested that the universal consistency of attachment might be explained by the effects of the mass media, which spread ideas about parenting so that children all over the world are exposed to similar influences.
The results suggest that variations in attachment cannot be accounted for by differences or applications of the coding system used; rather, childrearing practices do vary from country to country and culture to culture. Secure attachment, as the most common attachment type in all countries, illustrates that there does seem to be a key factor to raising a child in all cultures and countries. This supports the notion that secure attachment is a prerequisite for healthy social and emotional development in children. However, there were variations of the insecure attachment type. The reasons for this could be due to economic climate of the country, poor education, environmental and cultural factors.
Evaluation: Strengths
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The study used a large sample size (1990 Strange Situation classifications across 32 studies), which increases the reliability of the findings and allows for broader generalisation about cross-cultural attachment patterns.
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The meta-analysis approach allowed researchers to identify patterns across multiple studies and countries, providing a comprehensive overview of attachment distributions that would be difficult to achieve through a single study.
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The finding that secure attachment was the most common type across all cultures provides support for the universality of attachment theory, suggesting that certain aspects of attachment may be biologically based rather than purely cultural.
Evaluation: Weaknesses
Ethnocentric Bias
A major issue with the use of the Strange Situation Procedure in different cultures is that it was developed by an American researcher and based on observations of American children. This could therefore be viewed as ethnocentric bias, reflecting the norms and values that American culture places on childrearing. The test suggests that attachment is related to anxiety on separation and in doing so assumes that behaviour has the same meaning in all cultures.
Japanese infants show high levels of distress during the test as they are very rarely parted from their mother in comparison to western infants. Ainsworth interprets this as insecure attachment and in doing so is imposing western values on a different culture.
Sampling Limitations
The majority of data gathered came from studies in individualistic cultures. Only one study's data was used to represent China compared to 18 from America. It is also true that many of the samples used a small or biased number of middle-class families, which cannot represent the whole culture completely.
In particular, urban rather than rural families were assessed. It is likely that the studies represented distinct subcultures within the culture they attempted to represent. It is therefore an oversimplification to view one country as a single culture, as within each country there is great variation.
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The Strange Situation Procedure may not be a valid measure of attachment in all cultures, as it was designed based on western assumptions about appropriate caregiver-child interactions and the meaning of certain behaviours. What appears as insecure attachment in one culture may simply reflect different childrearing practices rather than problematic attachment relationships.
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The exclusion criteria used in the meta-analysis (removing studies with children over 24 months, those with special educational needs, and overlapping samples) may have limited the generalisability of the findings, as these restrictions could have systematically excluded certain types of attachment patterns or cultural practices.
Key Points to Remember:
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Secure attachment (Type B) was the most common attachment type across all eight countries studied, demonstrating some universality in attachment patterns.
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Variation in attachment types was 1.5 times greater within cultures than between cultures, suggesting that factors beyond broad cultural differences influence attachment.
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The Strange Situation Procedure may be ethnocentric, as it was developed based on American norms and may not accurately reflect attachment in all cultural contexts.
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Germany showed higher levels of anxious-avoidant attachment (possibly due to cultural emphasis on independence), whilst Japan showed higher levels of resistant attachment (possibly due to cultural emphasis on dependency).
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The study suffered from sampling issues, with most data coming from individualistic cultures and often representing urban, middle-class families rather than entire cultures.