Cross-cultural Variation

1. Cross-cultural Variation www.psychlotron.org.uk • Child rearing practices vary considerably from place to place • Environment • Traditions • Beliefs about children • Does this result in different attachment patterns? • Universal vs. culturally specific

2. Cross-cultural Research www.psychlotron.org.uk • Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988) • Meta analysis of studies of attachment in different countries • Looked at proportions of different SSC attachment types • Secure attachment always the most common, but significant variation

3. Cross-cultural Research www.psychlotron.org.uk

4. Cross-cultural Research www.psychlotron.org.uk • Many studies have limited samples • Cannot claim to be representative of each culture • E.g. in Israel kibbutz vs. urban • Probably more variation within cultures than between them

5. Cross-cultural Research www.psychlotron.org.uk • Reliable findings • Grossman & Grossman (1991) - high proportion of ‘avoidant’ children in Germany • Takahashi (1990) - 32% of children resistant; none avoidant • From US/UK point of view such findings might seem alarming

6. Cross-cultural Research www.psychlotron.org.uk • Important not to judge other cultures from our own perspective • Japan – children rarely separated from mother – find SSC very stressful • ‘Avoidant’ behaviour very rude – actively discouraged • Germany – greater personal distance is the norm; proximity seeking not encouraged

7. Cross-cultural Variation www.psychlotron.org.uk • Findings suggest attachment has some universal features • There is variation both between and within cultures • SSC may not be best tool for cross-cultural research as it assumes behaviour always has same significance as in US/UK