ABSTRACT
M any societies have legends about successful individuals who originate from humble but loving environments, as well as stories about indi-viduals who fail despite having been born in circumstances of material abundance but lacking love. These legends reflect the belief in emotional bonds. Deep emotional bonds between children and their parental figures, as well as between adults, are universally valued (Grossmann, Grossmann, & Keppler, 2005; Rothbaum, & Morelli, 2005; van IJzendoorn, Bakermans-Kranenburg, &
CONTENTS Unit of Analysis in Cultural Context: Dyad and Beyond 298 Attachment Practice and Consequence in Cultural Context 299 One More Dimension: Evolving Culture 301 Contextual Thinking in Assessment and Intervention 301
Attachment Assessment Within Cultural Contexts 302 Therapist as a Secure Base: A Background Concept 306 Working With Immigrant Families in the United States: Analysis and Recommendations 307
Attachment Experiences in Cultural Contexts: A Contextual Analysis 307 Recommendations for Clinical Intervention 308
Concluding Remarks 309 References 310
Sagi-Schwartz, 2006) as depicted by attachment theory and adult attachment research. While attachment theory highlights the common theme across cultures and generations, variations should and do exist in making and maintaining bonds to achieve desired consequences (Rothbaum, Weisz, Pott, Miyake, & Morelli, 2000; Weisner, 2005). Put differently, there can be different, albeit slightly different, versions of secure attachments and corresponding ways of achieving them. In the traditional Chinese family, for example, the model of a “strict (and distant) father and a loving (and enmeshed) mother” was regarded as ideal in raising competent children. Whereas in the West, the ideal is for children to grow up with two equally sensitive and responsive parents (Belsky, 1999; Bowlby, 1988). Existing variations inevitably lead to acknowledgment of cultural influences on attachment practices (Carlson & Harwood, 2003; Doherty, Hatfield, Thompson, & Choo, 1994; Rothbaum & Morelli, 2005) when applying principles of attachment theory to clinical practice. This acknowledgment demands that attachment phenomena be examined within the relevant cultural context.
