Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Late Life Attachment in Context: Patterns of Relating Among Men and Women from Seven Ethnic Groups

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to develop the later life attachment literature by providing data contrasting patterns of attachment among 616 older men and women (aged 50 to 70) from seven ethnic groups in the United States: African Americans, English-speaking Caribbeans, Haitians, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Eastern Europeans, and European Americans. A multivariate analysis of the variance with ethnicity, gender, and income as factors predicting four dimensional styles of attachment (secure, dismissive, preoccupied, and fearful avoidant) revealed numerous ethnic differences in attachment styles. Most notably, Haitians reported greater dismissiveness than all other groups, with Eastern Europeans reporting more than Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, European Americans and African Americans. Haitians also reported lower fearful avoidance than all other groups. Dominicans and Puerto Ricans reported greater preoccupation than Haitians, African Americans, and English-speaking Caribbeans. The most notable interactions with gender and income revealed that although preoccupation was lower among African American, English-speaking Caribbean, Haitian, and European American women versus men, it was greater among Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Eastern European women, and that whereas security was generally high among European Americans notwithstanding income, income strongly impacted attachment security in other groups. These differences are interpreted in light of ethnic differences in historical, familial, and religious contexts. This study provides a glimpse into the ethnic and cultural diversity in the ways in which older adults relate to significant others.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ainsworth, M. S. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. The American Psychologist, 44, 709–716. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.44.4.709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ainsworth, M. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Oxford, England: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, E. A. (1988). West Indians. In L. E. Comas-Diaz, & E. E. H. E. Griffith (Eds.), Clinical guidelines in cross-cultural mental health. Wiley series in general and clinical psychiatry. (Vol. xvi, (pp. 305–333). Oxford, England: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Althausen, L., McGoldrick, M., Giordano, J., & Pearce, J. K. (1996). Russian families. New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Kroonenberg, P. M. (2004). Differences in attachment security between African-American and white children: Ethnicity or socio-economic status? Infant Behavior and Development, 27, 417–433. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2004.02.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, D., Kidwell, S. L., & Leung, K. H. (1998). Parenting and preschooler attachment among low-income urban African American families. Child Development, 69, 1657–1671. doi:10.2307/1132138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226–244. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.61.2.226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226–244. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.61.2.226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhopal, R., & Donaldson, L. (1998). White, European, Western, Caucasian, or what? Inappropriate labeling in research on race, ethnicity, and health. American Journal of Public Health, 88, 1303–1307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1977). The making and breaking of affectional bonds: I. Aetiology and psychopathology in the light of attachment theory. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 201–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss. New York, NY, US: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent–child attachment and healthy human development. New York, NY, US: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brennan, K. A., Clark, C. L., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult. attachment: An integrative overview. In J. A. Simpson, & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46–76). New York: Guilford.

  • Brice, J. (1992). West-Indian families. In M. McGoldrick, J. K. Pearce, & J. Giordano (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (pp. 123–133). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, V. J., & Harwood, R. L. (2003). Attachment, culture, and the caregiving system: The cultural patterning of everyday experiences among Anglo and Puerto Rican mother–infant pairs. Infant Mental Health Journal, 24, 53–73. doi:10.1002/imhj.10043.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cicirelli, V. G. (2004). God as the ultimate attachment figure for older adults. Attachment & Human Development, 6, 371–388. doi:10.1080/1461673042000303091.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, N. L. (1996). Working models of attachment: Implications for explanation, emotion, and behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 810–832. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.71.4.810.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, N. L., & Feeney, B. C. (2000). A safe haven: An attachment theory perspective on support seeking caregiving in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 1053–1073. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.6.1053.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, N. L., & Read, S. J. (1990). Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in dating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 644–663. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.58.4.644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, N. L., & Read, S. J. (1994). Cognitive representations of attachment: The structure and function of working models. In K. Bartholomew, & D. Perlman (Eds.), Attachment processes in adulthood. (pp. 53–92). London: Jessica Kingsley Publisher.

    Google Scholar 

  • Consedine, N. S., & Magai, C. (2002). The uncharted waters of emotion: Ethnicity, trait emotion and emotion expression in older adults. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 17, 71–100. doi:10.1023/A:1014838920556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Consedine, N. S., & Magai, C. (2003). Attachment and emotion experience in later life: The view from emotions theory. Attachment & Human Development, 5, 165–187. doi:10.1080/1461673031000108496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Consedine, N. S., Magai, C., & Bonanno, G. A. (2002). Moderators of the emotion inhibition–health relationship: A review and research agenda. Review of General Psychology, 6, 204–228. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Consedine, N. S., Magai, C., Cohen, C. I., & Gillespie, M. (2002). Ethnic variation in the impact of negative affect and emotion inhibition on the health of older adults. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57B, 396–P408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Consedine, N. S., Magai, C., & Conway, F. (2004). Predicting ethnic variation in adaptation to later life: Styles of socioemotional functioning and constrained heterotypy. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 19, 95–129. doi:10.1023/B:JCCG.0000027847.16659.b0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Consedine, N. S., Magai, C., & Horton, D. (2005). Ethnic variation in the impact of emotion and emotion regulation on health: A replication and extension. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 60B, 165–P173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Consedine, N. S., Magai, C., & Neugut, A. I. (2004). The contribution of emotional characteristics to breast cancer screening among women from six ethnic groups. Preventive Medicine, 38, 64–77. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2003.09.030.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cookman, C. (2005). Attachment in older adulthood: concept clarification. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 50, 528–535. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03435.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cross, S. E., & Madson, L. (1997). Models of the self: Self-construals and gender. Psychological Bulletin, 122, 5–37. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.122.1.5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (1996). Physical discipline among African American and European American mothers: Links to children’s externalizing behavior. Developmental Psychology, 32, 1065–1072. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.32.6.1065.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desrosiers, A., & Fleurose, S. S. (2002). Treating Haitian patients: Key cultural aspects. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 56, 508–521.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diehl, M., Elnick, A. B., Bourbeau, L. S., & Labouvie-Vief, G. (1998). Adult attachment styles: Their relations to family context and personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1656–1669. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiori, K. L., Consedine, N. S., & Magai, C. (2008). Ethnic differences in patterns of social exchange among older adults: the role of resource context. Ageing and Society, 28, 495–524.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fracasso, M. P., Busch-Rossnagel, N. A., & Fisher, C. B. (1994). The Relationship of Maternal Behavior and Acculturation to the Quality of Attachment in Hispanic Infants Living in New York City. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 16, 143–154. doi:10.1177/07399863940162004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraley, R. C., & Waller, N. G. (1998). Adult attachment patterns: A test of the typological model. In J. A. Simpson, & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 77–114). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gopaul-McNicol, S. (1999). Ethnocultural perspectives on childrearing practices in the Caribbean. International Social Work, 42, 79–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, P. M., Keller, H., Fuligni, A., & Maynard, A. (2003). Cultural pathways through universal development. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 461–490. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, D. W., & Bartholomew, K. (1994). Models of the self and other: Fundamental dimensions underlying measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 430–445. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.67.3.430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guilamo-Ramos, V., Dittus, P. J. J., Johansson, M., Bouris, A., & Acosta, N. (2007). Parenting practices among Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers. Social Work, 52, 17–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halgunseth, L. C., Ispa, J. M., & Rudy, D. (2006). Parental control in Latino families: An integrated review of the literature. Child Development, 77, 1282–1297. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00934.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes-Bautista, D. E., & Chapa, J. (1987). Latino terminology: Conceptual bases for standardized terminology. American Journal of Public Health, 77, 61–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hays, W. L. (1994). Statistics. Fort Worth, TX: International Thompson Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1994). Attachment as organizational framework for research on close relationships. Psychological Inquiry, 5, 1–22. doi:10.1207/s15327965pli0501_1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulewat, P. (1981). Dynamics of the Soviet Jewish family: Its impact on clinical practice of the Jewish family agency. Journal of Jewish Communal Service, 3, 53–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ispa, J. M. (1994). Child care in Russia: In transition. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ispa, J. M. (1995). Ideas about infant and toddler care among Russian child care teachers, mothers, and university students. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 10, 359–379. doi:10.1016/0885-2006(95)90012-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. R. S. (1998). Ethnocultural influences in cancer. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 5, 357–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kafetsios, K., & Sideridis, G. D. (2006). Attachment, social support and well-being in young and older adults. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 863–875.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kobak, R. R., Cole, H. E., Ferenz-Gillies, R., & Fleming, W. S. (1993). Attachment and emotion-regulation during mother–teen problem solving: A control theory analysis. Child Development, 64, 231–245. doi:10.2307/1131448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kobak, R. R., & Sceery, A. (1988). Attachment in late adolescence: Working models, affect regulation, and representations of self and others. Child Development, 59, 135–146. doi:10.2307/1130395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaVeist, T. A. (1994). Beyond dummy variables and sample selection: What health services researchers need to know about race as a variable. Health Services Research, 29, 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leipzig, C. (2006). When Russians come to therapy. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 34, 219–242. doi:10.1080/01926180600550379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, F. G., Melendez, M. C., & Rice, K. G. (2000). Parental divorce, parent–child bonds, and adult attachment orientations among college students: A comparison of three racial/ethnic groups. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47, 177–186. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.47.2.177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowenthal, D. (1972). West Indian societies. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magai, C. (2008). Attachment in Middle and Later Life. In J. Cassidy, & P. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of Attachment (2nd ed., pp. xxx). NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magai, C., Cohen, C., Milburn, N., Thorpe, B., McPherson, R., & Peralta, D. (2001). Attachment styles in older European American and African American adults. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 56B, S28–S35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magai, C., & Consedine, N. S. (2004). Introduction to the special issue: Attachment and aging. Attachment & Human Development, 6, 349–351. doi:10.1080/1461673042000303109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magai, C., Hunziker, , Mesias, W., & Culver, L. C. (2000). Adult attachment styles and emotional biases. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 24, 301–309. doi:10.1080/01650250050118286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magai, C., Kerns, M. D. R., Consedine, N. S., & Fyffe, D. (2003). Depression in older ethnic groups: A test of the generality of the social precursors model. Research on Aging, 25.

  • Magai, C., & McFadden, S. H. (1995). The role of emotions in social and personality development: History, theory and research. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Main, M., & Hesse, E. (1990). Parents’ unresolved traumatic experiences are related to infant disorganized attachment status: Is frightened and/or frightening parental behavior the linking mechanism?. In M. T. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti, & C. E. M. (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years (pp. 161–182). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

  • Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1986). Discovery of a new insecure-disorganized/disoriented attachment pattern. In T. B. Brazelton, & M. Yogman (Eds.), Affective development in infancy (pp. 95–124). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1990). Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized/disoriented during the Ainsworth Strange Situation. In M. T. Greenberg, & D. Cicchetti (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation series on mental health and development (pp. 121–160). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marganoff, P. P., & Folwarski, J. (1996). Slavic families(:) An overview. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano & J. K. Pearce. In Ethnicity and family therapy (2nd ed., pp. 658–672). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2000). Culture, emotion, and well-being: Good feelings in Japan and the United States. Cognition and Emotion, 14, 93–124. doi:10.1080/026999300379003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. N. (1997). A developmental perspective of self-construals and sex differences: Comment on Cross and Madson (1997). Psychological Bulletin, 122, 45–50. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.122.1.45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mickelson, K. D., Kessler, R. C., & Shaver, P. R. (1997). Adult attachment in a nationally representative sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1092–1106. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.5.1092.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikulincer, M. (1998a). Adult attachment style and affect regulation: Strategic variations in self-appraisals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 420–435. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.75.2.420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikulincer, M. (1998b). Adult attachment style and individual differences in functional versus dysfunctional experiences of anger. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 513–524. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.2.513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikulincer, M., Gillath, O., Halevy, V., Avihu, N., Avidan, S., & Eshkoli, N. (2001). Attachment theory and reactions to others’ needs: Evidence that activation of the sense of attachment security promotes empathic responses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1205–1224. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.81.6.1205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, A. M., Sorokin, O., Wang, E., Feetham, S., Choi, M., & Wilbur, J. (2006). Acculturation, social alienation, and depressed modd in midlife women from the Former Soviet Union. Research in Nursing & Health, 29, 134–146. doi:10.1002/nur.20125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montague, D. P. F., Magai, C., & Consedine, N. S. (2003). Attachment in African American and European American older adults: The roles of early life socialization and religiosity. Attachment & Human Development, 5, 188–214. doi:10.1080/1461673031000108487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Payne, M. A. (1989). Use and abuse of corporal punishment: A Caribbean view. Child Abuse & Neglect, 13, 389–401. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(89)90079-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rey, K. H. (1970). The Haitian family. New York: Community Service Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, L. R., McKim, M. K., & DiTommaso, E. (2006). How do underlying "self" and "other" dimensions define adult attachment styles? Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 38, 294–310. doi:10.1037/cjbs2006016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, L. R., & Spinner, B. (2001). General and specific attachment representations in adulthood: Is there a relationship? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 6, 747–766. doi:10.1177/0265407501186001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbaum, F., Weisz, J., Pott, M., Miyake, K., & Morelli, G. (2000). Attachment and culture — Security in the United States and Japan. The American Psychologist, 55.

  • Schmitt, D. P., Alcalay, L., Allensworth, M., Allik, J., Ault, L., Austers, I., et al. (2004). Patterns and universals of adult romantic attachment across 62 cultural regions: Are models of self and of other pancultural constructs? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35, 367–402. doi:10.1177/0022022104266105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, L. (1977). Haitians: A neglected minority. The Personnel and Guidance Journal, 55, 409–411.

    Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi, K. (2005). Toward a life span theory of close relationships:The effective relationships model. Human Development, 48, 48–66. doi:10.1159/000083215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E., Klein, L. C., Lewis, B. P., Gruenewald, T. L., Gurung, R. A. R., & Updegraff, J. A. (2000). Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: Tend-and-befriend, not fight-or-flight. Psychological Review, 107, 411–429. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.107.3.411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H. C., & Suh, E. M. (2002). Cultural influences on personality. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 133–160. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Kroonenberg, P. M. (1988). Cross-cultural patterns of attachment: A meta-analysis of the Strange Situation. Child Development, 59, 147–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webster, J. D. (1997). Attachment style and well-being in elderly adults: A preliminary investigation. Canadian Journal on Aging, 16, 101–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei, M. F., Russell, D. W., Mallinckrodt, B., & Zakalik, R. (2004). Cultural equivalence of adult attachment across four ethnic groups: Factor structure, structured means, and associations with negative mood. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51, 408–417. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.51.4.408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wierzbicka, A. (1998). Russian emotional expression. Ethos (Berkeley, Calif.), 26, 456–486. doi:10.1525/eth.1998.26.4.456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wierzbicka, A. (1999). Emotions across languages and cultures: Diversity and universals. Paris: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeung, D. Y., Fung, H. H., & Lang, F. R. (2008). Self-construal moderates age differences in social network charateristics. Psychology and Aging, 23(1), 222-226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, F., & Labouvie-Vief, G. (2004). Stability and fluctuation in adult attachment style over a 6-year period. Attachment & Human Development, 6, 419–437. doi:10.1080/1461673042000303127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Katherine L. Fiori

    Present address: Social Science Department, New York City College of Technology, 300 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Long Island University, 191 Willoughby Street, Suite 1A, Brooklyn, New York, NY, USA

    Katherine L. Fiori, Nathan S. Consedine & Carol Magai

Authors
  1. Katherine L. Fiori
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nathan S. Consedine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carol Magai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katherine L. Fiori.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fiori, K.L., Consedine, N.S. & Magai, C. Late Life Attachment in Context: Patterns of Relating Among Men and Women from Seven Ethnic Groups. J Cross Cult Gerontol 24, 121–141 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-008-9078-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-008-9078-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation