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Attachment occurs in all cultures, but whether the Strange Situation is applicable across cultural contexts is a matter of debate. Research has shown that infants in many countries, including Germany, Holland, Japan, and the United States, approach the Strange Situation in similar ways (Sagi, Van IJzendoorn, & Koren-Karie, 1991). In addition, the patterns of attachment identified by Ainsworth occur in a wide variety of cultures in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (Bornstein et al., 2013; Cassibba, Sette, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & IJzendoorn, 2013; Huang, Lewin, Mitchell, & Zhang, 2012; Jin, Jacobvitz, Hazen, & Jung, 2012; Thompson, 2013).

Nevertheless, there are differences. For example, insecure-avoidant attachments are more common in Western European countries, and insecure-resistant attachments are more prevalent in Japan and Israel (Van IJzendoorn & Kroonenberg, 1988). This pattern may result from the fact that Western cultures tend to emphasize individuality and independence, whereas Eastern cultures are more likely to emphasize the importance of relationships and connections with others. Individualist and collectivist cultural perspectives interpret children’s development in different ways; Western parents might interpret insecure-resistant behavior as clingy, whereas Asian parents might interpret it as successful bonding (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2018).

Dogon infants from Mali, West Africa, show rates of secure attachment that are similar to those of Western infants, but the avoidant attachment style is not observed in samples of Dogon infants because infants are in constant proximity to mothers who respond to infant distress promptly and feed infants on demand.

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Many Japanese and Israeli infants become highly distressed during the Strange Situation and show high rates of insecure resistance. Resistance in Japanese samples of infants can be attributed to cultural childrearing practices that foster mother–infant closeness and physical intimacy that leave infants unprepared for the separation episodes; the Strange Situation may be so stressful for them that they resist comforting (Takahashi, 1990). In other words, the Strange Situation may not accurately measure the attachment of these infants. Similarly, infants who are raised in small, close-knit Israeli kibbutz communities do not encounter strangers in their day-to-day lives, so the introduction of a stranger in the Strange Situation procedure can be overly challenging for them. At the same time, kibbutz-reared infants spend much of their time with their peers and caregivers and see their parents infrequently and therefore may prefer to be comforted by people other than their parents (Sagi et al., 1985).

Dogon infants from Mali, West Africa, show rates of secure attachment that are similar to those of Western infants, but the avoidant attachment style is not observed in samples of Dogon infants (McMahan True, Pisani, & Oumar, 2001). Dogon infant care practices diminish the likelihood of avoidant attachment because the infant is in constant proximity to the mother. Infant distress is promptly answered with feeding and infants feed on demand, so mothers cannot behave in ways that would foster avoidant attachment.

As shown in Figure 6.2, although secure attachment is most common, the prevalence of other attachment styles varies internationally. The behaviors that characterize sensitive caregiving vary with culturally specific socialization goals, values, and beliefs of the parents, family, and community (Mesman, van IJzendoorn, & Sagi-Schwartz, 2016). For example, Puerto Rican mothers often use more physical control in interactions with infants, such as picking up crawling infants and placing them in desired locations, over the first year of life than do European American mothers. They actively structure interactions in ways consistent with long-term socialization goals oriented toward calm, attentive, and obedient children. Typically, attachment theory conceptualizes this type of control as insensitive, yet physical control is associated with secure attachment status at 12 months in Puerto Rican infants (but not White non-Hispanic infants) (Carlson & Harwood, 2003; Harwood, Scholmerich, Schulze, & Gonzalez, 1999). Similarly, German mothers operate according to the shared cultural belief that infants should become independent at an early age and should learn that they cannot rely on the mother’s comfort at all times. German mothers may seem unresponsive to their children’s crying, yet they are demonstrating sensitive childrearing within their context (Grossmann, Spangler, Suess, & Unzner, 1985). In other words, the behaviors that reflect sensitive caregiving vary with culture because they are adaptations to different circumstances (Rothbaum et al., 2000).

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Figure 6.2 Cross-Cultural Variations in Attachment

Source: Adapted from Van IJzendoorn & Kroonenberg, 1988.

In summary, attachment is an adaptive process in which infants and caregivers become attuned to each other and develop an enduring bond. Infants become attached to caregivers—mothers, fathers, and other adults—who are sensitive to their needs. Secure attachment in infancy is associated with emotional and social competence in infancy, early childhood, and even later childhood and adolescence. The attachment bond formed in infancy, whether secure or insecure, influences the child’s developing internal working model of self and thereby his or her self-concept, as described in the next section.