Antecedents and Correlates of the Strange Situation Behavior of Japanese Infants

Abstract

Varying distributions across attachment classifications in different cultures have raised questions about the cross-cultural validity of the Strange Situation. These questions can be addressed by examining the antecedents and correlates of Strange Situation behavior outside the United States. If the Strange Situation is a mild-to-moderate stressor for both U.S. and Japanese infants, the antecedents and correlates of attachment classifications should be similar in both cultures. The present study examined the validity of the Strange Situation with Japanese infants and mothers by investigating the correlates and antecedents of Strange Situation behavior. In the United States, Ainsworth et al. reported that mothers' responsiveness to their infants was the best predictor of infants' later attachment classifications. Dickstein et al. found that resistant infants referenced their mothers most frequently, avoidant infants the least, and secure infants an intermediate amount. These findings suggested two hypotheses: Japanese infants should, like U.S. infants, reference their mothers differentially depending on their attachment classifications and "responsive" Japanese mothers should have "secure" infants. However, none of the statistical tests related to these hypotheses were significant. "Secure" and "resistant" Japanese infants were equally likely to reference their mothers, and maternal responsiveness was not associated with the infants' later attachment classifications. These results suggest that the Strange Situation may not be a valid index of the security of infant-mother attachment in Japan.