Culture and attachment: How culture might effect the attachment process Robin Goodwin, Kinga Kunowska Brunel University, London

Culture and attachment: A broad overview We can several kinds of relationship between culture and attachment, and the consequences of attachment. These make different assumptions about –The universality of particular parenting experiences. –The impact of those parenting experiences on attachment. –The relationship between attachment and ‘other things’ (e.g. personality, relationship schemata, love styles)

Universalist approach Parenting Attachment Relationships

Universalists.. Freud (1914): Attachment love Bowlby’s work (e.g. Bowlby, 1959) Ainsworth et al (1978): universal relationship between mothering and security Early attachment experiences influence general relationship schemata that then affect adult “love schemata” (e.g. Shaver & Hazan, 1993) Doherty et al (1994): attachment styles more important than culture in shaping love styles. Interviewed Hawaiian students from 4 ethnic groups. Found attachment better predictor than I- C.

Culture as moderator of childhood attachment Parenting Attachment Relationships Cultural values

Culture as moderator of childhood attachment May be cross-cultural differences in proportions of both childhood and adult attachment styles (e.g. Sprecher et al, 2004). May reflect cultural differences in child-rearing practices. Parenting can be seen as “an evolved answer to adaptive problems” (Keller, 2002) Note: Most work assumes that the parenting experience  attachment link culturally consistent ‘Cultural’ values (e.g. IC) can also emerge from culturally rooted early childhood experiences (Keller, 2002).

Attachment as an adaptation Cultural events Attachment styles Relationships

Attachment as an adaptation But maybe adult attachment styles are influenced by more than parenting? Can “internal working models” be subject to fairly rapid transitions, independent of parenting experiences? Evidence of some rapid changes in core aspects of adult interpersonal relationships –E.g. trust levels fell substantially in Eastern Europe in years following end of Communism (Inglehart, 2003). What kind of anxieties/ ambivalence does this produce?

Definition of avoidant attachment style (Hazan & Shaver, 1990): “I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others; I find it difficult to trust them completely” Work on mortality salience demonstrates that when people more scared, new unexpected attachments form (Schachter, Mikulincer). Insomuch as attachment style is personal resource, may also be critical in appraising societal change (Lazarus, 1991)

Attachment, culture, and ‘other things’: culture as mediator Attachment Relationships Culture ?

Attachment, culture, and ‘other things’: culture as mediator Some evidence of cultural differences in association between attachment  marital relationship (Onishi & Gjerde, 2002 in Japan) Q: Just how “relevant” is an individuals attachment style when s/he comes to forming adult relationships? Substantial proportion of world’s marriages are at least semi-arranged (Goodwin, 1999).

People in most cultures desire relationships with particular others (attractive, charming, British). But in practice: Where broader societal factors are more important (Collectivist societies?) variance explained by attachment style in actual relationship formation may be small

In sum Parenting Attachment Relationships Culture a a.Cultural/ Societal changes directly impact on adult (?) attachment b.Culture directly impacts on relationship practices b