14.5: Culture and Attachment, with a Focus on Middle Childhood

In the last few years, attachment theory has been met with growing criticism. With attachment research attributing global universality to behavioral concepts developed based on Western ideals of childhood and on empirical data limited to Western samples, this criticism mostly refers to the neglect of contextual adaptiveness and the resulting Eurocentric perspective on childhood (LeVine, 2014; Weisner, 2014; Keller, 2016). Especially the concept of monotropy has been criticized for describing the limited reality of Western nuclear families compared to the globally more common broad social networks (Nsamenang, 1992; Arnett, 1995, 2008; Keller, 2016). Thus, cultural psychology has developed an alternative approach, guided by the assumption that attachment patterns, too, can take a multitude of pathways, shaped by ecocultural features of the distinct settings of development (Weisner, 2005; Keller, 2014).

One way to study the different ecological contexts is to compare two prototypical settings.

One of these approaches highlighting the range of developmental settings describes two prototypical sociodemographic communities, each representing extremes in their ideas on the relationship between the individual and the group, conceptualized with the two dimensions of autonomy and relatedness (Kâğıtçıbaşı, 1996; Keller et al., 2006; Keller, 2007). Resulting from the ecocultural environment, each setting has a distinct psychology that shapes the context-specific developmental paths of socialization, conveying context-specific competences and strategies of survival (Kâğıtçıbaşı, 1996; Greenfield et al., 2003; Keller, 2007, 2014).

The first prototype describes the developmental setting of traditional villages. These relational contexts are often illustrated using the Cameroonian Nso as an example (Keller, 2007). This environment is marked by low maternal education, a high number of children per mother, and an early onset of reproduction (Keller et al., 2006). The cultural model focuses on interdependence, considering the individual as heteronomous and interconnected with others, and values obedience, harmony in the hierarchically organized group and social responsibility (Nsamenang and Lamb, 1993; Kâğıtçıbaşı, 1996; Keller et al., 2006; Keller, 2007). Families in these small-scale communities live in large households and are integrated into extended social networks. The interconnectedness translates into a care system based on shared care (Keller, 2014), oftentimes also involving peers as caregivers (Weisner and Gallimore, 1977; Bryant, 1989). Children have an economic value, contributing to the mostly subsistence based economy from early on (Kâğıtçıbaşı, 1996; Keller, 2007 Keller, 2007). Early care focuses primarily on the infant’s health () and survival due to critical living conditions, with care peaking in the first months and years before being transferred to the next child (LeVine, 1974, 1988). The infant is constantly monitored and never left alone (Keller, 2007).

The second prototype describes middle-class families in autonomous Western contexts, often illustrated using samples from Berlin or Los Angeles (Keller, 2007). This setting is marked by high maternal education, few children per mother and a comparably late onset of reproduction (Keller et al., 2006; Keller, 2007). The cultural model of this context focuses on independence, perceiving the individual as self-contained (Kâğıtçıbaşı, 1996; Keller et al., 2006; Keller, 2007). Individuals in these large-scale postindustrial communities that are based on cash economy live in nuclear families (Kâğıtçıbaşı, 1996; Keller, 2007). Child care is primarily a dyadic and parental task, with mothers taking over the majority of practical responsibilities and only a few non-parental caregivers present, especially during the first years. Care strategies in this context convey values of self-maximization, assertiveness and initiative (Weisner, 1984, 2005; Keller, 2007, 2014). Early care focuses on communication and cognitive development (Keller, 2007), preparing the child for the challenges of school and the job market (LeVine, 1974, 1988). Children only hold psychological value due to the high affluence and public pension systems (Kâğıtçıbaşı, 1996; Keller, 2007). They learn to spend time alone from early on, reinforcing autonomy (Keller, 2007; Yovsi et al., 2009).

For the first years of development, the adaptiveness of socialization and attachment patterns has thoroughly been investigated, highlighting differences in children’s developmental pathways. It has been demonstrated that caregivers in autonomous settings support emotional expressiveness, socializing children toward self-expression and self-definition (Keller and Otto, 2009), with children explicitly expressing their distress in attachment situations (Ainsworth et al., 1978). In contrast, caregivers in relational contexts prefer calm and inexpressive children as investigated among the Cameroonian Nso. This inexpressiveness extends to children’s attachment behavior. When confronted with a stranger, a situation expected to be stressful according to attachment theory, they remain calm and relaxed, even on a physiological level. Children’s emotional regulation is promoted in this context since it allows for the introduction of several caregivers, lifting the mother’s burden and ensuring a constant supervision while integrating the child into an interconnected society (Otto, 2008, 2014; Keller and Otto, 2009).

Not only is this continued view that even in middle childhood only one attachment figure (mainly the mother) is important problematic from the cross cultural point of view, but it also fails to acknowledge the importance of networks of other attachment to non-parental adults and peers that become important as the child's network grows even in Westernized nuclear households.

In rural traditional areas, children take on more responsibilities in social settings (for example more complex caregiving of younger children) and religious settings (e.g. secret societies, Ndze, 2008). In Western contexts, children of this age are expected to self regulate and be more independent and become more self reliant particularly in formal schooling. The latter also requires new relationship formation and maintenance with new adults and peers. Parents provide less support and supervision in both types of contexts.

When Cameroonian Nseh children were compared to Western middle class children in Germany, the selection of contextual dimensions were based on physical environmental structures, population parameters and socioeconomic structures, taking into consideration the environment, history and maintenance of settings that influence children's learning. In the German contexts, when children are asked for the functionality of their attachment ties, children reference the ability of attachment figures to cope with socially difficult situations. Consistency and harmonization are also described as second and third most important factors. Education figures and those providing instrumental assistance in distress are next most important in the German contexts. In the Cameroonian context, four categories of perceived functionality of attachment were nutritional care (mostly from older peers and adults), kinship described in great or exact detail, everyday instrumental assistance (not referencing distress), and affection.

Cameroonian children described larger settings of attachments, whereas German children primarily report depending on adults. However, children across both samples also identify a considerable number of same-aged peers as their attachment figures, i.e., individuals contributing to their continuous feeling of security. For the context of the Nseh, these peers constitute an important developmental and interactional space, resulting from the normative parental withdrawal during this period, as demonstrated for many comparable Sub-Saharan settings (Weisner and Gallimore, 1977; Weisner, 1984; Gottlieb, 2004; Lancy, 2015).

German children experience more diverse social settings as they grow, unlike their Cameroonian counterparts. There is also wider geographical experience for German children.

In general similar developmental challenges are experienced, and attachment security fulfills similar needs in both contexts for middle childhood aged kids. Superordinate figures like parents remain important, but in general peers become more and more important.

Attributions:

Comparing attachment networks during middle childhood in two contrasting cultural contexts. by Becke, S.D. & Bongard, S. Front. Psychol. (2018). 9:1201. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01201 licensed CC-BY 4.0