Mothers' attachment status as determined by the Adult Attachment Interview predicts their 6-year-olds' reunion responses: A study conducted in Japan.

Abstract

Following a 1986 study reporting a predominance of ambivalent attachment among insecure Sapporo infants, the generalizability of attachment theory and methodologies to Japanese samples has been questioned. In this 2nd study of Sapporo mother-child dyads (N=43), the authors examined attachment distributions for both (a) child, based on M. Main and J. Cassidy's (1988) 6th-year reunion, and (b) adult, via the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). In contrast to the previous Sapporo study, children's 3-way or "organized" distribution did not differ from the global distribution. However, when the disorganized-controlling (D) and cannot classify (CC) categories were applied to the analyses, a high proportion of D/CC children was found. Comparable analyses for Japanese mothers, including the unresolved/disorganized (U) and CC categories, were found to deviate slightly from the global norm. However, turning from global distributions to mothers' AAI classification as related to their child's reunion classification, all matches were surprisingly close to those established worldwide. When, as is customary, mothers' U and CC classifications were combined (U/CC) and compared with the child's D and CC classifications (also customarily combined as D/CC), mothers' U/CC status strongly predicted child D/CC status (r=.60, d=1.50). Additionally, mothers' AAI subclassifications predicted child subclassifications.

The Moderating Role of Attachment Styles on the Relationship of Alexithymia and Fear of Intimacy with Marital Satisfaction

“…An individual with secure attachment style "is likely to possess a representational model of attachment figure (s) as being available, responsive, and helpful" (Bowlby, 1980, p. 242). An individual with avoidant attachment style seems very independent of the attachment figure (s) both physically and emotionally (Behrens, Hesse, & Main, 2007). He/she is likely to have a representational model of attachment figure (s) as being insensitive and rejecting (Ainsworth, 1979).…”

Reconsidering Attachment in Context of Culture: Review of Attachment Studies in Japan

“…In particular, determining Dcontrolling category, which consists of the characteristic of control-caregiving or controlpunitive, could have been possibly affected by this disadvantage of not understanding the spoken words, even with translated transcripts. For example, the same words/phrase can be considered (a) control-caregiving or being polite or (b) control-punitive or being bossy teasingly, depending on the tone or how the child made such comments (see Behrens et al, 2007). This could partly explain the unusually high proportion of D-category in this sample.…”

“…This is echoed in the practice that emphatically stressed that the AAI, which requires meticulous, painstaking linguistic analyses, should never be coded based on translated transcripts. Behrens, Hesse, and Main (2007) conducted the first attachment study of 6-year-olds in Japan, utilizing the Main-Cassidy 6 th -year-system. Japanese 6-year-olds' reunion behaviors with their mothers after one-hour separation were observed.…”

“…Kazui et al (2000) administered the first AAI to Japanese mothers in Japan. Behrens et al (2007) administered the second AAI to Japanese mothers. Both AAI datasets were coded by native Japanese speakers who were extensively trained in the AAI and passed the reliability with Mary Main and Erik Hesse, the developers of the AAI.…”

Raising entrepreneurs: can parenting style amplify entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours?

“…An infant with an avoidant attachment treats strangers similar to caregivers. These infants are very independent both physically and emotionally; they do not seek the caregiver in times of distress (Behrens, Hesse and Main, 2007). Children with avoidant attachments are likely to have a caregiver who is insensitive to their needs (Ainsworth, 1979).…”