Outline and evaluate research into cultural variations in attachment(12 marks)

One study into cultural variations in attachment refers to Van IJendoorn and Kroonenberg(1988).
They conducted a meta-analysis on the findings of 32 studies which examined over 2000 Strange
Situation classifications in eight different countries. They were interested whether there are any
inter-cultural variations between countries or any intra-cultural variations within the same cultures.
The results have shown that there were no significant inter-cultural variations, secure attachment
being the most common classification, followed by insecure-avoidant (except Israel and Japan).
Furthermore, research has shown that intra-cultural differences were 1.5 times greater than inter-
cultural ones. The fact that most children in all of the countries were categorized as securely
attached means that this is considered a norm, which is best for healthy social and emotional
development.
Another study which supports this idea but focuses mainly on Japanese infants is Takahashi (1990).
He studied 60 middle-class infants and their mothers using the Strange Situation technique. The
findings show similar rates of secure attachment to those found by Ainsworth et al. in the US sample,
but no evidence of insecure-avoidant attachment and high rates of insecure-resistant attachment.
Children displayed extreme reactions when they were left alone, being particularly distressed. This
separation behavior can be explained in terms of different childcare practices, meaning that
American children experience separation from their mothers more often than Japanese infants. This
research suggests that even if secure attachment is common for other cultures, there are differences
arising in other categories, which depend on differences in cultural attitudes.
There are some methodological constraints which refer to both studies. One of them relates to the
use of the Strange Situation to assess the attachment patterns. The Strange Situation was invented
by Ainsworth et al., which were Americans, in order to be applied to American children. This means
that it is questionable whether it is suitable to apply this technique to different cultures.
Furthermore, in terms of the meta-analysis by LJendoorn and Kroonenberg, it should be mentioned
that 18 out of 32 studies were conducted on American children, which represents a majority,
whereas only 5 studies were conducted on collectivist cultures. Therefore, we cannot apply the
results to all the cultures as studies werent spread even among cultures.