Cultural Variations in Attachment

6 Key excerpts on "Cultural Variations in Attachment"

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  eBook - ePub

  Adult Attachment

  A Concise Introduction to Theory and Research

  • Omri Gillath, Gery C. Karantzas, R. Chris Fraley(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Academic Press

    (Publisher)

  Schmitt et al., 2004 ). The premise behind this research is that cultural differences including, but not limited to, parenting practices, the expression of emotion, and the collectivist or individualist nature of cultures may influence the degree to which individual differences in adult attachment are expressed. Differences as a function of culture may then have important implications for how broad contextual factors impact the way in which individual differences in attachment develop and are maintained.

  To date, considerable attempts have been made to understand the role of culture in the study of attachment. When it comes to the relative distributions of attachment styles in different cultures, some studies find no differences whereas other studies demonstrate clear cultural variability. For instance, a study by Doherty, Hatfield, Thompson, and Choo (1994) did not find significant differences in the distribution of attachment styles across cultures (ie, European-Americans, Japanese-Americans, Chinese-Americans, and Pacific Islanders). Doherty and colleagues found that across cultures, over 60% of individuals were classified as secure, approximately 25% were classified as avoidant, and 8% were classified as anxious. Meta-analytic studies (that focused on AAI assessments of attachment) have found similar distributions in attachment styles across cultures (eg, van IJzendoorn & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 1996 , 2010 ).

  Schmitt and colleagues (Schmitt, 2008 , 2011; Schmitt et al., 2004 ) conducted one of the most comprehensive studies of culture and attachment and found cultural variability in adult attachment. Specifically, Schmitt and colleagues studied over 17,000 individuals across 62 cultures from 11 regions around the world. They found that secure attachment was the most prevalent adult attachment style in 79% of cultures. However, preoccupied attachment was more prevalent in East Asian countries compared to other regions (Schmitt et al., 2004 ; Schmitt, 2011 ). Dismissive attachment was more prevalent in countries located in Africa and Southeast Asia (Schmitt et al., 2004 ; Schmitt, 2008

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  Different Faces of Attachment

  Cultural Variations on a Universal Human Need

  • Hiltrud Otto, Heidi Keller(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  Therefore, different con- texts represent different cultural models or cultural milieus at the same time. Anthropologists and cultural psychologists have claimed that attach- ment research (like much of psychology in general) does not recognize the fundamental differences in cultural conceptions of the self and the implications for normal and deviant developmental pathways. Therefore, obvious behavioral differences have been underestimated and interpreted from the prevailing Western conception of the self, so that LeVine and Norman (2001) conclude that attachment theory is more a Western phi- losophy of child rearing than a scientific theory (see also LeVine in this volume and Vicedo (2013) for the historical imprint of attachment). It is therefore argued here that, in order to understand children’s development of relationships on a global scale, the conceptualization of attachment as a biologically based – but culturally shaped – construct is necessary. This aim necessitates comparative studies, including nonhuman primates in order to demonstrate contextual variation in them as well (Bard, Myowa- Yamakoshi, Tomonaga et al., 2005). Moreover, the study of indigenous views of attachment (see especially Part II in this volume) is crucial. In order to assess the development of attachment(s) in different cultural contexts from different disciplinary perspectives (evolutionary theory, cultural/cross-cultural psychology, linguistics, anthropology, and neu- rophysiology), a multimethod approach that integrates qualitative and quantitative methods, as represented in this volume, is a necessary con- dition. Such a fresh look at attachment does imply the substantial revision of the following two important claims.

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  Cross-Cultural Child Development for Social Workers

  An Introduction

  • Lena Robinson(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Bloomsbury Academic

    (Publisher)

  Van Ijzendoorn and Sagi-Schwartz (2008) have commented that most cross-cultural studies of attachment are etic (apply Western constructs and methods to observe non-Westernized cultures) rather than emic (apply culturally appropriate constructs and methods). Thus, it is uncertain if global definitions of attachment constructs can be applied across cultures to define specific aspects of family relationships. For example, what happens when a family from a context that promotes communal family networks migrates to a context that promotes a different type of family relationship? (Mirecki & Chou, 2013). Childrearing practices vary across cultures, which can impact the attachment processes between caregivers and children (Howes & Spieker, 2008).

  There is evidence that broad cultural patterns of individualism-collectivism foster different social competencies. For example, secure attachment in Japanese culture leads to interdependent social relationships, adherence to social norms, and self-esteem based on other’s approval. In Western cultures, secure attachment patterns are more probably associated with autonomy, self-reliance, and self-esteem based on personal competence, reflecting individualistic values (Cheng & Kwan, 2008; Morelli & Rothbaum, 2007). Children ‘expressing these social behaviours are considered healthy and competent in their own respective cultures, but not necessarily in another’ (Gardiner and Kosmitzki, 2014).

  Practitioners ‘need to be respectful and sensitive towards varied patterns of care-giving influenced by the cultural norms within different communities. The key consideration is the assessment of whether or not basic needs are reliably met’ (Daniel, 2010, p. 25).

  Brown et al. consider that attachment goals from a Western perspective ‘move the individual from reliance on a safe base to personal exploration encompassing a wider and wider periphery, with the goal of autonomy. However, in collectivist cultures, for example, the goal of the caretaker would be more apt to encourage mutual effort rather than reliance on self’ (2008, p. 24).

  Minuchin (2002) extended the application of attachment theory into the realm of family therapy, proposing that attachment of a child might not only revolve around one person but also include extended family networks and dynamics, playing an important role across cultures. Minuchin also pointed out that family therapists must take into account family structures, as they differ from one culture to another. It is therefore important to think of attachment in the cultural context of the situation. Similarly, Lin and Fu (1990) found that interdependence was stressed more in the realm of family and relationships while independence as stressed more at school and work.

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  Attachment Across Clinical and Cultural Perspectives

  A Relational Psychoanalytic Approach

  • Sonia Gojman-de-Millan, Christian Herreman, L. Alan Sroufe, Sonia Gojman-de-Millan, Christian Herreman, L. Alan Sroufe(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  ex post facto explanations) are tested is likely to be conducive to elaborating and revising the theoretical frameworks implicated.

  Several important questions and issues remain to be addressed by future empirical work. Among those, we need to trace the developmental course of both child and maternal (caregiver) behavior during early and middle childhood in different contexts and cultures. It is perhaps during childhood with the development of language and representations that context (cultural) specific differences begin to consolidate and influence child-mother relationships. While researchers have argued that enculturation begins during infancy (e.g., LeVine & Norman, 2001), it is reasonable to believe that with greater exposure to culture, there is a greater likelihood for cultural differences to emerge. Thus, as children get older, we may expect such alleged differences to a greater extent. Such investigations that extend across childhood may also open up the window for examining similarities and differences in secure base relationships as the latter get elaborated and transformed, e.g., the consolidation of children’s working models of attachment relationships.

  Also, we need to employ methodologies that allow us to capture the phenomena as it transpires in different contexts. Descriptions in naturalistic settings play a central role in revealing the developmental course of child-mother attachment relationships and both commonalties as well as specific contextual characteristics. Ethological observations á la Ainsworth or ethnographic observations are good examples of methodologies that allow the study of behavior in consideration of context. Furthermore, inquiries that take into account the real living conditions of dyads and families are necessary to understand behavioral organization (see Ainsworth, 1967). Thus, we need studies of child-mother interactions in different ecologies within

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  Family, Self, and Human Development Across Cultures

  Theory and Applications, Second Edition

  • Cigdem Kagitcibasi, Çigdem Kagitçibasi(Authors)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  maladaptive and to define them with reference to the particular context. Thus, adaptive attachment would be a relationship that provides an optimal level of safety for the child within a specific context, which may differ from other contexts.

  One reason for the focus on infancy and early attachment is that this may predict later self- and competence development. Though there is some evidence of early secure attachment leading to later social competence and adult secure attachment (Waters, Merrick, Treboux, Crowell, & Albersheim, 2000 ), there are also conflicting findings. For example, life circumstances such as divorce, serious illness in the family, child abuse, or a deteriorating financial situation, can have detrimental effects on attachment security (Hamilton, 2000 ; Weinfeld. Sroufe, & Egeland, 2000 ). Thus, a recent longitudinal study (Lewis, Feiring, & Rosenthal, 2000 ) found no relationship between infant insecure attachment and adolescent maladjustment.

  An environmental focus tends to differ from an attachment perspective. In chapter 2 , we reviewed contextual theories used in developmental psychology. Particularly contextual models, such as Bronfenbrenner’s more recent formulation of bioecological theory, involving a process-person-context-time model (PPCT) (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998 ), pay more attention to changing dynamics over time. This new formulation also puts the biopsychosocial person at the center stage whereaws Bronfenbrenner’s original ecological model (1979) had somewhat underestimated the significance of the person (child). Thus the active person–environment dynamics progress and change over time. This perspective is endorsed by the developmental systems perspective on parenting (Lerner, Rothbaum, Boulos, & Castellino, 2002 ). It is not in tune with the emphasis on the early determination and stability assumptions of attachment theory. For example, research supporting a developmental systems perspective finds parental antecedents of attachment (i.e., sensitivity) and long-term consequences of sensitivity (i.e., social competence) to be different in Japan and the United States (Rothbaum, Pott et al., 2000 ; Rothbaum, Weisz et al., 2000

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  Culture and Human Development

  The Importance of Cross-Cultural Research for the Social Sciences

  • Wolfgang Friedlmeier, Pradeep Chakkarath, Beate Schwarz(Authors)
  • 2005(Publication Date)
  • Psychology Press

    (Publisher)

  attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 713–734). New York: Guilford

  Vereijken, C.M.J.L, Riksen-Walraven, J.M., & Kondo-Ikemura, K. (1997). Maternal sensitivity and infant attachment security in Japan: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Behavioral Development , 21, 35–50.

  Völker, S., Yovsi, R., & Keller, H. (1998, July). Maternal interactional quality as assessed by non-trained raters from different cultural backgrounds . Paper presented at the XVth Biennial ISSBD Meetings, Bern, Switzerland.

  Waters, E. (2002, April). Attachment theory—is it relevant universally? Paper presented at the International Society of Infant Studies, Toronto, Canada.

  Waters, E., & Cummings, E.M. (2000). A secure base from which to explore the environment. Child Development , 71 , 164–172.

  Waters, E., & Valenzuela, M (1999). Explaining disorganized attachment: Clues from research on mild-to-moderately undernourished children in Chile. In C. George & J.Solomon (Eds.), Attachment disorganization ( pp. 265–287 ). New York: The Guilford Press.

  White, M I., & LeVine, R.A. (1986). What is an “ii ko” (good child)? In H.W. Stevenson & H.Azuma (Eds.), Child development and education in Japan (pp. 55–62). New York: Freeman.

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  * We do not mean to suggest that there is a linear pathway from maternal sensitivity and care to children’s health status. There are many reasons why a child’s health may be compromised; we suspect that maternal sensitivity plays a role only sometimes and that sensitivity can be a consequence or correlate as well as a cause of health outcomes.

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  6 Emotional Development and Culture: Reciprocal Contributions of Cross-Cultural Research and Developmental Psychology

  Wolfgang Friedlmeier

  Introduction

  This volume focuses on the importance of cross-cultural psychology to social sciences. This perspective would not be complete if the opposite influence is not taken into account, namely the contribution of knowledge and findings in social sciences to cross-cultural psychology. Here, developmental psychology is chosen as a specific domain of social sciences. The aim of this chapter is to describe contributions of developmental psychology to conceptualization of culture and to cross-cultural research designs and vice versa. The domain of emotions will be used as an example for demonstrating such reciprocal effects.

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