ERIC Number: EJ1319942
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Dec
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Development in Context: What We Need to Know to Assess Children's Attachment Relationships
Schmidt, Wiebke Johanna; Keller, Heidi; Rosabal Coto, Mariano
Developmental Psychology, v57 n12 p2206-2219 Dec 2021
Attachment studies mostly follow the Western middle-class model in theory and methods. To demonstrate that the assessment of children's caregiving context is an often neglected, but crucial prerequisite for attachment studies, we (a) conducted a literature analysis of attachment research in non-Western contexts and (b) empirically investigated the caregiving arrangements and cultural concepts of attachment figures in three cultural groups in Costa Rica: rural Guanacaste, urban San José, and rural indigenous Bribri. All persons involved in caring for 65 infants (7-20 months) participated in the study, resulting in a total of 179 semistructured interviews. The samples showed differences in caregiving practices, with the urban sample resembling Western middle-class contexts emphasizing the maternal importance; the two rural samples showing extensive caregiving networks; however, differently composed. Moreover, the three samples revealed culturally specific concepts of potential attachment figures. The study emphasizes the need for culturally sensitive conceptual and methodological approaches in attachment research.
Descriptors: Child Development, Attachment Behavior, Cultural Differences, Infants, Toddlers, Parent Child Relationship, Parenting Styles, Rural Urban Differences, Foreign Countries, Indigenous Populations, Child Rearing, Family Structure, Mothers, Fathers, Parent Background, Educational Attainment, Age Differences, Gender Differences, Marital Status, Caregivers, Interpersonal Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Costa Rica
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A