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Journal of Counseling Psychology Copyright 2006 by the American Psychological Association
2006, Vol. 53, No. 2, 192204 0022-0167/06/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0022-0167.53.2.192

Differences Between Taiwanese and U.S. Cultural Beliefs About Ideal

Adult Attachment
Chia-Chih DC Wang and Brent S. Mallinckrodt
University of MissouriColumbia

Some researchers believe that important tenets of attachment theory are culturally universal, whereas
others claim that key constructs are rooted in Western values and should not be generalized further. To
explore possible cultural differences in adults, undergraduates from Taiwan (n 280) and the United
States (n 268) were asked in the present study to complete a self-report measure of adult attachment,
the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (K. A. Brennan, C. L. Clark, & P. R. Shaver, 1998), as they
believed an ideally emotionally and psychologically healthy person of your own gender in your culture
would respond. Findings suggested significant differences by cultural group, gender, and Gender
Culture interactions. Taiwanese women and men endorsed more avoidance in beliefs about ideal adult
attachment than their U.S. counterparts, and Taiwanese men endorsed more anxiety than U.S. men. These
cultural differences were not explained by group differences in independent and interdependent self-
construal.

Keywords: adult attachment, cross-cultural comparison, gender differences, individualism, collectivism

Attachment theory has been described as one of the most influ-
ential conceptual frameworks guiding contemporary social devel-
opment research (Cassidy & Shaver, 1999). However, as attach-
ment theory has received attention from an increasingly broader
range of researchers, the universality of key attachment theory
concepts and the appropriateness of applying the theory to non-
Western cultures have become the focus of a growing controversy.
Bowlby (1969) maintained that the core hypotheses of attachment
theory are culturally universal and apply to all members of the
human species. Claims of cultural universality were given initial
empirical support when results of observational attachment studies
were replicated in samples of motherinfant dyads from Uganda
and the United States (Ainsworth, 1967; Ainsworth, Blehar, Wa-
ters, & Wall, 1978). In the past three decades, cultural comparison
studies (e.g., Grossmann, Grossmann, Huber, & Wartner, 1981;
Vereijken, Riksen-Walraven, & Kondo-Ikemura, 1997) have ex-
amined the universal applicability of attachment theory in infancy
and early childhood. These studies used the standard Strange
Situation protocol and classification system developed by Ains-
worth et al. (1978) to compare across cultures the percentages of
Chia-Chih DC Wang and Brent S. Mallinckrodt, Department of Educa-
tional, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri
Columbia.
This article was based on the doctoral dissertation completed by Chia-
Chih DC Wang, with the supervision of Brent S. Mallinckrodt. We grate-
fully acknowledge Chan-Tai Chang, Yuan-Hsien Lin, and Amanda Rose
for their assistance with data collection and Katherine Daly for her feed-
back on an earlier version of this article.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Chia-
Chih DC Wang, who is now at the Division of Counseling and Educational
Psychology, School of Education, University of MissouriKansas City,
Room 220, 615 East 52nd Street, Kansas City, MO 64110. E-mail:
wangdc@umkc.edu
infants or children classified in the three attachment categories
Ainsworth and her colleagues identified. Findings of these studies
generally indicated that the same core aspects of secure attachment
developed by an infant with primary caregivers can be observed
across different cultures and that infants and children with secure
attachment appear to be the numerical majority in widely differing
cultures (van IJzendoorn & Sagi, 1999). Many contemporary at-
tachment researchers believe that the core components of attach-
ment theory are culturally universal, while acknowledging that
specific attachment behaviors may be expressed differently across
cultural contexts (Grossmann, Grossmann, & Kepler, 2005;
Posada & Jacobs, 2001).
However, Rothbaum, Weisz, Pott, Miyake, and Morelli (2000)
questioned the applicability of attachment theory in Japanese cul-
ture. They argued that because the fundamental assumptions and
philosophies underlying most attachment constructs are deeply
rooted in Western culture, and the bulk of empirical studies sup-
porting attachment theory have been conducted in the United
States and Europe with White middle-class subjects, attachment
theory concepts are not as culturally universal as proponents claim.
Critics of Rothbaum et al.s arguments have responded that Japa-
nese culture is not homogenous, and the assertion that secure
attachment leads to dependence in Japan rather than exploration
has not been empirically tested (Gjerde, 2001); that although
culture-specific socialization may create differences in how attach-
ment outcomes, such as competence or secure base behavior, are
expressed, attachment may still promote these outcomes in every
culture (Posada & Jacobs, 2001); and that Rothbaum et al. over-
looked a great deal of cross-cultural research evidence supporting
the universalist position (van IJzendoorn & Sagi, 2001).
Other critics of the universal viewpoint have argued that meth-
ods used to assess attachment in the United States may not be valid
when applied to other cultures (Miyake, Chen, & Campos, 1985).

192
 CULTURAL BELIEFS ABOUT IDEAL ADULT ATTACHMENT
For instance, Trnavsky (1998) found that distinctly different pro-
totypes of attachment emerge in standard laboratory assessment
protocols for Chinese and American motherinfant dyads.
Trnavsky questioned the appropriateness of classifying children
from non-Western cultures on the basis of attachment prototypes
derived from Western research, while ignoring the influence of
culture-specific parenting practices.
The controversy about the cultural universality of childhood
attachment constructs shows little sign of resolution (e.g., Posada
& Jacobs, 2001; Rothbaum, Weisz, Pott, Miyake, & Morelli,
2001). At the same time, similar questions have been raised with
respect to the applicability of Western-based adult attachment
concepts to non-Western cultures. Compared with the small num-
ber of cross-cultural comparisons of attachment security in chil-
dren, there has been even less research examining the universality
of attachment constructs for adult close relationships across cul-
tures. A PsychInfo database search for articles indexed under the
terms attachment behavior and cross-cultural differences identi-
fied 45 empirical studies of adults, but only 6 of these are directly
relevant to cross-cultural comparisons of adult attachment. In a
survey study, You and Malley-Morrison (2000) found that Korean
young adults scored higher on preoccupied attachment and lower
on intimacy and friendship expectations than their European
American counterparts. The authors speculated that strong family
ties in Korean culture may contribute to the observed differences.
The finding that Korean adults reported higher scores on preoc-
cupied attachment than U.S. respondents was confirmed in another
study examining the association of adult attachment styles with
perceptions of elder abuse (Malley-Morrison, You, & Mills, 2000).
A third comparative study reported that Chinese students were
significantly lower in attachment security toward romantic part-
ners than their Canadian counterparts (Ditommaso, Brannen, &
Burgess, 2005). A study investigating adult daughters ratings of
their relationship to their mothers found that Asian Indians in the
United States scored significantly higher than their European
American counterparts on both attachment closeness and depen-
dence (Rastogi & Wampler, 1999). A fifth study comparing three
groups of female university students, Hindi-speaking and English-
speaking Asian Indians and Dutch-speaking Belgians, found no
differences across groups in the level of fit for a causal model
predicting life satisfaction from adult daughters bonds with moth-
ers (Prishnee & Poortinga, 2005). Finally, in a large-scale cross-
cultural study examining differences in styles, Schmitt et al. (2004)
reported that secure adult attachment was normative in the major-
ity of the 62 cultures examined, the ratios of preoccupied attach-
ment were higher in East Asian cultures than in other regions, and
behavior profiles of romantic attachment in different cultures were
correlated with the corresponding sociocultural norms.
Clearly, more empirical cross-cultural comparison studies are
needed to inform the debate regarding the universality of attach-
ment theory as applied to adults. However, an important first step
is to understand how secure attachment is defined in the cultures
to be compared. In the United States, conceptions about what
constitutes secure adult attachment are reflected in the instruments
that researchers use to assess adult attachment. One of the most
widely used self-report adult attachment measurements is the
Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECRS; Brennan, Clark,
& Shaver, 1998), which was developed from a factor analysis of
193
responses from over 1,000 undergraduates to more than 300 items
taken from all self-report measures of attachment available at that
time. Two orthogonal dimensions of attachment avoidance and
anxiety were identified. The Avoidance subscale of the ECRS taps
fear of intimacy, discomfort with self-disclosure, reluctance to
seek support or depend on others, and reticence about expressing
feelings. The Anxiety subscale assesses worries about being alone,
concern about a partners disapproval, frustration when a partner is
not available, and a desire to be closely merged with ones partner.
Low levels of both avoidance and anxiety are interpreted as
evidence of adult attachment security. In fact, among attachment
theorists and researchers, a tacit understanding appears to have
developed, often not explicitly acknowledged, that lower levels of
anxiety and avoidance uniformly indicate higher attachment secu-
rity, better social competence, more ideally healthy interpersonal
relationships, and higher life satisfaction and psychological well-
being (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Lopez & Brennan, 2000;
Mallinckrodt, 2001; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2003; Simpson &
Rholes, 1998).
A close examination of the construct of adult attachment secu-
rity, as it is defined and measured by scales like the ECRS,
suggests that separate components of affect, cognition, and behav-
ior are tapped by the items. We are concerned that items tapping
each of these three aspects of adult secure attachment may embody
Western cultural ideals about the socially approved forms of
emotional expression, intimacy, and the optimal balance between
dependence and independence in adult attachments. These West-
ern cultural norms do not describe the values of all cultures.
Differences may be especially evident with regard to overt behav-
ior. For example, in the traditional Chinese culture in Taiwan,
emotional restraint is valued, and deeply personal, direct self-
disclosure is discouraged even in romantic couples who have
been together for many years (Moore, 1998). ECRS items such as
I prefer not to show a partner how I feel deep down describe
strong cultural values for traditional Taiwanese but are scored as
behavioral evidence of higher avoidance (i.e., insecurity) by the
ECRS. Conversely, behavior tapped by items such as I tell my
partner just about everything may be seen by traditional Taiwan-
ese as representative of a quite immature and selfish burdening of
ones partner with what should remain a private concern (Cho &
Cross, 1995), whereas it is interpreted as a relative absence of
avoidance (i.e., a sign of security) when scoring the ECRS. Sim-
ilarly, with regard to affect and cognition, the value placed on
close connection to family, interdependence, and mutual obliga-
tion in traditional Chinese culture would be taken as evidence of
attachment anxiety if these values lead to endorsing ECRS items
such as I worry about being alone or I worry a fair amount
about losing my partner.
Cultural comparison research depends on the equivalence of the
measures used to assess the constructs of interest. Lonner and
Ibrahim (1996) described different types of equivalence. In the
specific case of adult attachment, functional equivalence requires
that attachment is used by persons in both cultures to achieve the
same ends. Metric equivalence (sometimes termed scalar equiva-
lence) requires that the same scale value would indicate the same
level or intensity of the construct in both groups (Hui & Triandis,
1985). Conceptual equivalence means that adult attachment is
defined in both cultures similarly. A variant of conceptual equiv-
194 WANG AND MALLINCKRODT
alence, linguistic equivalence, applies to the special case in which
instruments are presented in different languages to assess the
construct in different groups. Other writers prefer the term seman-
tic equivalence when referring to this special type of conceptual
equivalence because a word-for-word linguistically accurate trans-
lation may not convey the intended meaning (Flaherty et al., 1988;
Hambleton, 1993; Mallinckrodt & Wang, 2004). This typology is
useful in framing the debate between the universalist and relativist
viewpoints. In Lonner and Ibrahims terms, relativists claim that
attachment serves different functions in different cultures. Univer-
salists disagree. The design of the present study did not generate
findings relevant to this question because we did not examine
functional differences in the two cultures we examined. Rather, the
focus was on the conceptual dimension of equivalence. We hy-
pothesized that young adults in Taiwan and the United States think
differently about adult attachment and define it differently, espe-
cially with respect to behavioral indicators of secure attachment.
Although our primary focus was on the conceptual dimension, it is
also likely to have important implications for the metric dimension
as well. Specifically, we expected mean differences across cultures
for subsets of the ECRS items that tap cultural differences in the
conceptual definition of secure adult attachment.
Self-Construal and Adult Attachment
Self-construal may be one of the factors that influence how
young adults in Taiwan and the United States think about adult
attachment. The concept of self-construal has been widely used in
the literature, describing differences in cultural orientations (Fiske,
Kitayama, Markus, & Nisbett, 1998). Self-construal is a traitlike
disposition involving beliefs, feelings, attitudes, and actions in
social relations, especially the degree of separation or connected-
ness between the self and others (Markus & Kitayama, 1991;
Triandis, 1996). Two distinct types of self-construal have been
described: independent and interdependent. Western culture gen-
erally values individualism and emphasizes the uniqueness, inde-
pendence, and rights of an individual to act free of the constraints
of others. Thus, most persons who ascribe to Western cultural
values develop a relatively strong independent self-construal char-
acterized by distinct self other boundaries, celebration of unique
personal abilities or characteristics, the pursuit of individual self-
interest, and an emphasis on direct self-expression. In relationship
terms, people with an independent self-construal tend to consider
others and themselves as separate units (Markus & Kitayama,
1991). In contrast, traditional Chinese culture holds collectivistic
values, placing a strong emphasis on interdependence and con-
nectedness among individuals. These cultural values favor devel-
opment of a relatively strong interdependent self-construal. The
self is defined as inseparable from ones relational context. Har-
monious interpersonal relationships and meeting ones social ob-
ligation are valued. Ones esteem and status is defined by the
views of other members in ones social group. People with an
interdependent self-construal are more willing to sacrifice their
personal goals for the needs of their social reference group. Inter-
dependent cultural values define the self as part of a set of
relationships deeply embedded in the surrounding social context
(Markus & Kitayama, 1991).
Thus, both self-construal and adult attachment theory are fun-
damentally concerned with predictable patterns in relationships
between self and others. According to attachment theory, an indi-
viduals childhood interactions with caregivers give rise to work-
ing models consisting of deeply ingrained mental representations
of self and others (Bowlby, 1969, 1988). Working models of self
and others persist into adulthood and govern appraisals about the
level of comfort and support one can generally expect in relation-
ships and ones own level of worth and esteem in the eyes of
others. A positive working model of others is believed to form the
basis for relatively low adult attachment avoidance, whereas a
positive working model of self is necessary to promote low levels
of adult attachment anxiety (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2003). Because
these working models do not develop in a cultural vacuum, this
study is based on the assumption that expectations about self,
others, and interactions in close relationships that are part of
individuals working models are constrained by cultural beliefs,
for example, about the proper balance between independence and
obligation to others, appropriate expectations for support, or how
one establishes esteem and self-worth. That is, culturally based
attitudes about norms of proper behaviorsuch as how a romantic
couple should communicate their needs and feelings to one an-
other, how and when to negotiate and resolve conflicts, and the
amount and types of support partners in a romantic relationship are
justified in expecting from each otherall probably influence
cultural beliefs about what constitutes secure adult romantic
attachment. In the domains of attachment affect, cognition, and
behavior, these proscriptive cultural norms may exert their stron-
gest influence on behavior because attachment behaviors are the
most observable and amenable to censure or praise. Therefore,
beliefs about adult attachment security, especially how it is behav-
iorally enacted, may be, to some degree, culture specific. The
differences between Chinese and Western cultural beliefs about
ideal adult attachment may stem from underlying cultural differ-
ences in interdependent versus independent self-construals.
The main purpose of this study was to extend inquiry about
cultural universality of attachment theory concepts to the burgeon-
ing literature on adult attachment. We studied college undergrad-
uates in Taiwan and the United States because the primary devel-
opmental task of these individuals is the struggle to establish
intimate attachments (Erikson, 1963). In this study, we asked
participants to respond as an ideally emotionally and psycholog-
ically healthy person of your own gender in your culture would
answer. This approach offered two important methodological ad-
vantages. First, because we were interested in comparing cultural
values about ideals of attachment security, we reasoned that struc-
turing the rating task to ask how a hypothetically ideal person
would respond offered a more direct way to tap the data of interest
than asking for self-reports of actual attachment. Second, at a
practical level, because college students in Taiwan tend to have
relatively less dating experience than U.S. students at the same
age, asking about actual attachment experience would introduce a
potential confound. We reasoned that students in each of the two
cultures were likely to have developed well-formed opinions about
what constitutes ideal attachment security, regardless of possible
differences in actual romantic experience.
On the basis of previous research and our personal knowledge of
each culture, we expected that Taiwanese undergraduates, relative
 CULTURAL BELIEFS ABOUT IDEAL ADULT ATTACHMENT
to their U.S. counterparts, would describe an ideally healthy adult
attachment as having higher levels of avoidance and anxiety. Our
second hypothesis held that high levels of independent self-
construal and lower levels of interdependent self-construal among
Taiwanese undergraduates would be associated with beliefs about
ideal attachment more similar to the Western ideal, that is, featur-
ing low avoidance and low anxiety. Finally, consistent with pre-
vious research (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Triandis, 1996), we
expected that U.S. undergraduates, compared with their Taiwanese
counterparts, would exhibit significantly higher levels of in-
dependent self-construal and lower levels of interdependent
self-construal.
Method
Participants
Two parallel sets of data, respectively drawn from two distinct cultural
groups of college students, were collected for this study. First, because we
used nonstandard instructions for the ECRS, the reliability of ratings
collected with the modified method was checked with the retest samples of
Taiwanese and U.S. students assessed at two points in time. In addition,
two larger samples of Taiwanese and U.S. students were surveyed on one
occasion to provide the data for cross-cultural comparisons.
Retest samples. The retest sample of U.S. students (n 26) was
recruited from a class in interviewing skills for nonmajors and contained 24
(92%) women and 2 (8%) men. Their mean age was 20.62 years (SD
1.37 years, range 18 24). Regarding ethnic identification, 22 (85%)
indicated White/Caucasian, 2 (8%) indicated Black/African American, neutral/mixed, 5 agree slightly, 6 agree somewhat, 7 agree
and 2 (8%) indicated Asian American/Pacific Islander. Students received
extra credit for completing the survey. Packets containing the ECRS with
the modified instructions described below were distributed and collected in
one class period. A second packet identical to the first was distributed and
collected 1 week later. All students in the class volunteered to provide both
test and retest data.
The retest sample of Taiwanese students (n 38) was recruited from an
undergraduate Chinese history course required for every university student.
The sample consisted of 22 (58%) women and 16 (42%) men. Their mean
age was 19.16 years (SD 0.86, range 18 21). Following the same
procedure used for the U.S. sample, packets containing the Chinese version
of the ECRS with modified instructions were distributed and collected in
class on the first occasion, and again 1 week later. Students were offered
extra credit toward their course grade as an incentive for participation. A
total of 42 students completed the first survey, but 4 were absent from class
on the second occasion, resulting in a 90% research compliance rate
(n 38).
Cultural comparison samples. U.S. undergraduate students were so-
licited from a large public university in the Midwest. Survey packets were
distributed in an undergraduate developmental psychology course. (Note
that data were collected before students in this course had received any
instruction about attachment theory.) Students were offered extra credit
toward their course grade as an incentive to participate. A total of 291 U.S.
undergraduate students completed surveys. A final sample of 268 (92%)
provided usable data. Among them, 204 (76%) were women, 64 (24%)
were men. Their mean age was 20.62 years (SD 1.02, range 19 23).
Regarding ethnic identification, 242 (90%) indicated White/Caucasian, 8
(3%) indicated Black/African American, 5 (2.0%) indicated Asian
American/Pacific Islander, 5 (2.0%) indicated a mixture of race/ethnici-
ties, 2 (0.7%) indicated Hispanic, Chicano, Latino or Latina, 1 (0.3%)
indicated Native American, and 5 (2.0%) did not indicate an ethnic
identification. In terms of class level, 1% (n 3) were freshmen, 48% (n
129) were sophomores, 35% (n 95) were juniors, and 15% (n 41) were
seniors.
195
For the Taiwanese comparison sample, participants were solicited from
five Chinese literature classes on two university campuses in Taiwan, one
in northern Taiwan and another in southern Taiwan. This course was
selected because it is required of every Taiwanese university student. Thus,
a broad selection of majors and geographic areas were represented in this
sample. No special incentive or extra credit was offered for students
participation, but students were given time to complete the surveys in class.
All students who attended these classes on the day of data collection
volunteered to participate in the survey study. A total of 316 Taiwanese
students completed surveys, a sample that the instructors estimated was
over 95% of the total students who enrolled in the courses. Among all
participants, usable data were obtained from 280 (89%) students, which
included 127 (45%) women and 153 (55%) men. Their mean age was 19.76
years (SD 1.44, range 1729). In terms of class level, 75% (n 209)
were freshmen, 21% (n 60) were sophomores, 2% (n 5) were juniors,
and 1% (n 2) were seniors. Four students did not specify their class
levels.
Measures
The ECRS (Brennan et al., 1998). The ECRS was used with modified
instructions to assess the cultural ideal of healthy adult attachment. The
ECRS was developed from responses of over 1,000 undergraduate students
(from a large public university in Texas) to more than 300 items taken from
the most frequently used self-report adult attachment instruments. In the
original ECRS, respondents are directed to rate how they generally expe-
rience romantic relationships, not just what may be happening in a current
relationship. We used a 7-point, fully anchored Likert-type scale (1
disagree strongly, 2 disagree somewhat, 3 disagree slightly, 4
strongly). The original ECRS is only partially anchored at response points
1, 4, and 7. Factor analyses identified two orthogonal factors of attachment
Anxiety and Avoidance, with each subscale containing 18 items. Brennan
et al. reported internal reliability (coefficient alpha) of .91 and .94 for the
Anxiety and Avoidance subscales, respectively. Brennan, Shaver, and
Clark (2000) reported that retest reliabilities (3-week interval) for both
subscales were .70. Evidence of validity is provided by significant corre-
lations in expected directions with other measures of adult attachment and
with measures of preferences for touch and sexual behavior (Brennan et al.,
1998, 2000).
In the present study, the ECRS was used with these modified instruc-
tions:
The following statements concern how people experience and feel in
romantic relationships. Please respond to each item according to your
beliefs of how an ideally emotionally and psychologically healthy
person of your own gender in your culture would answer. Choose a
response from the scale below indicating how much this culturally
ideally healthy person would agree or disagree with the statement.
In addition to this instruction at the beginning of the instrument, the
following reminder appeared at the halfway point (after item #18): Please
remember to respond to items according to how an ideally emotionally and
psychologically healthy person of your own gender in your culture would
answer. In this study, internal reliability (coefficient alpha) for the ECRS
using these instructions in the U.S. sample was .93 and .92 for the
Avoidance and Anxiety subscales, respectively. Retest reliability after a
1-week interval in the U.S. retest sample (n 26) was .95 and .93 for the
Avoidance and Anxiety subscales, respectively.
Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Chinese Version (ECRS-C).
The ECRS was adapted into Mandarin Chinese by Mallinckrodt and Wang
(2004) using back-translation methods, followed by quantitative verifica-
tion procedures in which retest and internal reliabilities of the original
ECRS and the ECRS-C were systematically compared in a bilingual
196 WANG AND MALLINCKRODT
sample. Strong evidence for the semantic equivalence of the two scales was
reported in that coefficient alpha was statistically equivalent for same-
language versus mixed-language forms of the instrument. These semantic
equivalence comparisons were based on standard instructions for the scale
adapted into Mandarin Chinese. For the present study, the modified in-
structions described above were also translated. Retest reliabilities (n 38,
1-week interval) using the modified instructions were .90 and .92 for the
Avoidance and Anxiety subscales, respectively. Internal reliabilities (co-
efficient alpha) in the Taiwanese cultural comparison sample using the
modified instructions were .76 and .85 for the Avoidance and Anxiety
subscales, respectively.
Self-Construal Scale (SCS; Singelis, 1994). The SCS was administered
to assess participants individualistic/collectivistic cultural orientations.
The SCS consists of two subscales designed to measure an individuals
independent/individualistic and interdependent/collectivistic self-construal,
which have been shown to be orthogonal dimensions. Each subscale
contains 12 items, with a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Internal reliability (coefficient alpha) was
reported to be .70 for the Independent subscale and .74 for the Interdepen-
dent subscale. Evidence of construct validity was provided by significant
score differences between groups in directions consistent with their cultural
characteristics and by correlations in expected directions with other vari-
ables (Singelis, 1994). The Chinese version of the SCS was developed by
Singelis and his colleagues following a translation and back-translation
procedure (Singelis, Bond, Sharkey, & Lai, 1999). In the present study,
coefficient alphas for the English SCS were .65 and .63, and for the
Chinese SCS, .66 and .78, for Independent and Interdependent subscales,
respectively.
Procedure
Rigorous efforts were made to follow identical data collection proce-
dures for the U.S. and Taiwanese samples. After obtaining the instructors
permission, a researcher came to classes in person to describe the study.
Students in both groups were given survey packets, which included the
consent form, demographic items, the ECRS (or the ECRS-C) with the
modified instructions, described above, and the SCS (or the Chinese-
language equivalent). Packets given to Taiwanese students also included a
second version of the ECRS with standard instructions so that we could
examine whether the modified instructions resulted in different responses
than the standard version. Thus, data on both ideal attachment beliefs and
actual self-reported adult attachment were collected from students in Tai-
wan. We intended to follow the same procedure with U.S. students, but the
course instructor wanted to keep the interruption of class time to a mini-
mum. Thus, survey packets for U.S. students contained only the modified
ECRS.
For Taiwanese students, the ECRS-C with modified instructions was
presented first, followed by the SCS. The ECRS-C with standard instruc-
tions was presented last in the packet to assess students ratings of actual
adult attachment. Because U.S. students did not complete the standard
ECRS, a fixed rather than a counterbalanced order was used for Taiwanese
students so that both groups were presented first with the task of reporting
their ideal attachment beliefs. Students who did not wish to participate
were instructed to simply return their survey packet at the same time other
students returned their packets. No personally identifying information was
requested on the survey. The entire procedure was completed in class and
required about 30 40 min for Taiwanese students and 20 min for U.S.
students. Both Taiwanese and U.S. student packets contained six items
throughout the survey directing students to Please mark 9 for this item to
guard against careless or random responding.
Results
Preliminary Analyses
Data-cleaning procedures were conducted before the prelimi-
nary analyses. For the U.S. sample, 11 surveys were dropped
because of missing data, and eight were eliminated because of
out-of-range responses on one or more of the items used to detect
careless or random responding. Data from 3 international students
were also excluded. Finally, using procedures to screen for uni-
variate and multivariate outliers suggested by Tabachnick and
Fidell (2001), data from one U.S. student were excluded from
further analyses. A similar data-cleaning procedure was conducted
with Taiwanese students. Surveys from 36 (11%) of the original
students were excluded because of missing data (n 19) or
out-of-range responses to random-response items (n 17).
A chi-square test revealed that the proportion of men and
women in each cultural sample was significantly different, 2(1,
N 548) 52.90, p .001. Consequently, separate analyses
were conducted for men and women to ensure that any cultural
differences obtained were not because of potential gender differ-
ences in the samples. Calculation of retest and internal consistency
reliabilities (reported in the Method section) for the modified
ECRS/ECRS-C instructions suggested that respondents could
complete the rating task and reliably report their beliefs about the
romantic attachment of an ideally emotionally psychologically
healthy person. A further test of the discriminant validity of this
rating task was conducted by comparing ideal attachment ratings
with actual self-ratings of the Taiwanese students. Significant
differences in repeated measures comparisons would suggest that
participants could successfully differentiate between their ideal
beliefs and assessment of their actual attachment style. Ratings of
attachment avoidance and anxiety served as dependent variables in
a 2 (gender) 2 Type of Rating (ideal vs. self ratings) multivariate
analysis of variance (MANOVA). Results suggested no significant
direct effect for gender, F(2, 266) 1.66, ns, and no significant
Gender Type of Rating interaction, F(2, 266) 2.63, ns.
However, there was a significant effect for the repeated measures
factor of rating type, F(2, 266) 15.50, p .001, 2 .104.
Table 1 shows results of repeated measures t tests comparing ideal
beliefs with actual attachment self-ratings. Differences were sig-
nificant for women with regard to both avoidance and anxiety. The
differences for men between ideal beliefs and actual self-ratings
also approached statistical significance ( ps .062). On the basis
of the significant repeated measures main effect, we concluded that
Taiwanese students could differentiate assessment of their actual
attachment status from their beliefs about ideal adult attachment
although this inference is stronger for women than for men.
The present study is the first time the ECRS-C has been used
with a relatively large group of persons whose first language is
Chinese. Because we were concerned about potential bias caused
by the differences between our Taiwanese and U.S. samples in
using the 7-point response scale, we conducted an analysis to
examine differences in response styles between these two samples.
For each cultural group, seven variables were created, consisting
of the number of times a given response scale point was chosen for
the 36 items. (Items were analyzed without reverse keying.) Thus,
if all seven response scale points were used equally, then a mean
of 5.14 (36/7) would be expected for each variable. Because scores
 CULTURAL BELIEFS ABOUT IDEAL ADULT ATTACHMENT
Table 1
Repeated Measures Comparison of Beliefs About Ideal Attachment With Self-Ratings for
Taiwanese Women and Men
Belief about ideal
attachment
Sex/attachment variable M SD
Women (n 124)
Avoidance 3.30 0.72
Anxiety 3.97 0.85
Men (n 146)
Avoidance 3.26 0.74
Anxiety 4.15 0.99
Note. Data from 10 students concerning attachment self-ratings were missing.
p .06. * p .05. *** p .001.
for any one of these seven variables is linearly dependent on the
other six, a MANOVA could not be used. A series of seven t tests
suggested that Taiwanese respondents, relative to their U.S. coun-
terparts, were significantly less likely to use the extremes of the
response scale (i.e., Points 1 and 7). U.S. students chose the
highest or lowest response option roughly twice as frequently as
Taiwanese students. For the response point disagree strongly,
Taiwanese M 2.84 (SD 4.15), whereas U.S. M 5.60 (SD
2.84), t(546) 6.82, p .01; for the response point agree
strongly, Taiwanese M 2.96 (SD 3.73), whereas U.S. M
4.92 (SD 3.72), t(546) 6.14, p .01. To correct for this
difference in response style, for the remainder of the analyses
reported in this article, a modified scoring scheme was used for the
ECRS and ECRS-C in which the two most extreme scale points
were combined (i.e., 1 2 and 7 6) for both cultural groups.
Tests of Research Hypotheses
Our first hypothesis held that Taiwanese students would exhibit
relatively higher avoidance and higher anxiety in their beliefs
about ideal romantic attachment than U.S. students. Although we
did not propose a specific hypothesis about differences between
men and women, because the proportion was significantly differ-
ent in each sample and because previous research (Sagarin &
Guadagno, 2004; Searle & Meara, 1999) has found significant
gender differences in emotional expressiveness and feelings of
jealousy in romantic relationships, we decided to examine poten-
tial gender differences in conjunction with the test of our first
hypothesis to guard against the possibility that gender differences
would be confounded with cultural differences. Thus, a two-way
Gender Cultural Group MANOVA was used to test this hypoth-
esis. Results suggested a significant direct effect for cultural group,
F(2, 543) 47.12, p .001; a significant direct effect for gender,
F(2, 543) 5.93, p .01; and a significant Gender Group
interaction, F(2, 543) 9.23, p .001, which supported our
decision to examine gender differences in conjunction with cul-
tural differences.
Table 2 reports results of independent sample t tests used as
follow-up tests to examine differences across each of the four
possible combinations of gender and culture. Cultural beliefs about
ideal attachment for Taiwanese men exhibited significantly more
197
Attachment
self-ratings
M SD df t
3.54 0.89 123 4.73***
4.13 0.91 123 2.26*
3.35 0.85 145 1.90
4.25 1.06 145 1.88
anxiety and more avoidance than U.S. men. Beliefs about ideal
attachment of Taiwanese women also exhibited significantly more
avoidance but not more anxiety than U.S. women. In general,
Table 2 shows a greater number of significant cross-cultural dif-
ferences (shown in horizontal comparisons of cells) than within-
culture gender differences (shown in vertical comparisons). In fact,
the only significant within-culture gender difference was that the
ideals of U.S. men exhibited significantly more attachment avoid-
ance than the ideal attachment of U.S. women. Because cultural
differences were more pervasive than gender differences and be-
cause the former were detected even after controlling for possible
gender differences, our first hypothesis received strong support.
The relative positions of the mean differences for these four
groups are shown in Figure 1. All data for this figure were
converted to z scores on the basis of the grand mean and pooled
standard deviation of the combined sample of both cultures and
sexes. Circles represent the 95% confidence interval around point
estimates. Attachment anxiety is plotted on the y-axis, with lower
scores at the top of the scale so that the figure depicts increasing
attachment security (low avoidance, low anxiety) in the upper
lefta convention with an established tradition in attachment
research (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Brennan et al., 1998).
In keeping with previous research (Fraley & Waller, 1998), the
figure depicts attachment as two continuous dimensions rather
than as four categories demarked by arbitrary cutting scores.
Figure 1 indicates that beliefs about ideal attachment for both
Taiwanese men and women diverge from their U.S. counterparts in
the direction of higher Anxiety and Avoidance subscale scores. In
addition, beliefs about ideal attachment of U.S. women, compared
with U.S. men, involve much less avoidance and somewhat higher
levels of anxiety. For the Taiwanese men and women, actual
self-reported attachment is shown in Figure 1 as well as their
attachment ideals. It can be seen that for both Taiwanese men and
women, their idealized attachment incorporates lower levels of
Anxiety and Avoidance than their actual self-reported adult
attachment.
Our second hypothesis asserted that Taiwanese students inde-
pendent self-construal would be negatively associated with Avoid-
ance and Anxiety in their ideal model of attachment (i.e., more
similarity to the Western ideal of attachment security), whereas the
198 WANG AND MALLINCKRODT

Table 2
Comparison of Ideal Attachment Beliefs by Sex and Culture

Taiwanese U.S.
Cells
Attachment variable M SD M SD compared df t

Womena,b
Avoidance (a) 3.37 0.62 (b) 2.56 0.64 ab 329 11.20***
Anxiety (c) 3.98 0.73 (d) 3.82 0.96 cd 329 1.55
Menc,d
Avoidance (e) 3.35 0.62 (f) 3.00 0.88 ef 215 3.36***
Anxiety (g) 4.12 0.84 (h) 3.66 0.84 gh 215 3.66***
ae 278 0.18
cg 278 1.50
bf 266 4.32**
dh 266 1.20

Note. Results of univariate 2 2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) for attachment anxiety means shown above:
main effect for cultural group, F(1, 544) 14.39, p .001, 2 .026; main effect for gender, F(1, 544) 0.01,
ns, 2 .000; Group Gender interaction, F(1, 544) 3.53, ns, 2 .006. Results of univariate 2 2
ANOVA for attachment avoidance: main effect for cultural group, F(1, 544) 86.94, p .001, 2 .138; main
effect for gender, F(1, 544) 11.63, p .001, 2 .021; Group Gender interaction, F(1, 544) 13.13, p
.001, 2 .024.
a
For Taiwanese women, n 127. b For U.S. women, n 204. c For Taiwanese men, n 153. d For U.S.
men, n 64.
** p .01. *** p .001.

level of interdependent self-construal would be positively associ-
ated with both Avoidance and Anxiety (i.e., more discrepancy
from the Western concept of ideal attachment). Table 3 shows
results of bivariate Pearson correlations between all the measured
variables in this study, separately by cultural group. As expected,
attachment anxiety was associated with interdependent self-
construal for Taiwanese students. However, contrary to expecta-
tions, attachment avoidance was not positively associated with
independent self-construal. In fact, the association was negative
and statistically significant for Taiwanese students. We also found
an unexpected significant negative correlation between Avoidance
and interdependent self-construal for Taiwanese students. To fur-
ther explore these differences, we compared the correlation be-
tween the Anxiety and Avoidance ECRS subscales for U.S. stu-
dents (r .21) and for Taiwanese students (r .01), using an
r to z transformation procedure. Results suggested that the ob-
served difference in this correlation between cultures was statisti-
cally significant at p .05.
The third hypothesis held that Taiwanese students would have
significantly higher interdependent self-construal and lower inde-
pendent self-construal than U.S. students. A 2 (gender) 2 (cul-
tural group) MANOVA was used to test this hypothesis. Results
suggested a significant main effect for cultural group, F(2, 537)
18.51, p .001, but no significant main effect for gender, F(2,

Figure 1. Cultural differences in ideal attachment beliefs.

 CULTURAL BELIEFS ABOUT IDEAL ADULT ATTACHMENT 199

Table 3
Correlations by Cultural Group

Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6

Taiwanese undergraduates (n 278)

1. Independent self-construal
2. Interdependent self-construal .52**
3. Ideal attachment avoidance .16** .17**
4. Ideal attachment anxiety .09 .18** .01
5. Actual attachment avoidance .23** .21** .75** .05
6. Actual attachment anxiety .01 .17** .06 .70** .02
U.S. undergraduates (n 265)
1. Independent self-construal
2. Interdependent self-construal .06
3. Ideal attachment avoidance .08 .09
4. Ideal attachment anxiety .07 .21** .17**

Note. All correlations with attachment Avoidance and Anxiety are based on the modified English- and
Chinese-language version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale scoring, with recoding of 7 6, 1
2 for the response scale.
** p .01.

537) 1.17, ns, or a Gender Group interaction, F(2, 537) controlling for the effects of self-construal, group and gender
1.70, ns. Table 4 reports univariate effect sizes for these analyses differences in ideal attachment beliefs remained.
and illustrates that our third hypothesis was supported with regard
to both interdependent and independent self-construal. Follow-up Analyses
Given these findings, we wondered whether underlying differ-
ences in self-construal accounted for most of the cultural differ- Given that significant differences in cultural beliefs about ideal
ences in ideal attachment. Accordingly, we repeated the 2 (gen- attachment could not be explained on the basis of differences in
der) 2 (cultural) group analyses shown in Table 2, but this time self-construal, we conducted a more fine-grained exploratory anal-
as a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), with inter- ysis. We hoped to identify the particular items on the ECRS/
dependent and independent self-construal entered as covariates. ECRS-C that contributed most to the observed cultural differences
Results were unchanged from the essential findings reported in in subscale scores. We hoped to identify unifying themes that tied
Table 2. In the MANCOVA, there was a significant main effect for these items together conceptually. To accomplish this, direct dis-
group, F(2, 535) 41.81, p .0001; a significant main effect for criminant function analyses were conducted separately for men
gender, F(2, 535) 6.04, p .001; and a significant Gender and women. Again, we corrected for cultural differences in the use
Group interaction, F(2, 535) 9.09, p .001. Thus, even after of the ECRS/ECRS-C response scales by collapsing the extreme
points (7 6), (1 2) for both cultural groups. The 36 items were
entered simultaneously as a block. Wilkss lambda criterion was
Table 4 used to test statistical significance. The canonical discriminant
Comparison of Self-Construal by Sex and Culture function for women was statistically significant, 2(36, N
331) 357.75, p .001, and accounted for 84% of the variance
Taiwanese U.S. in cultural groups. The canonical discriminant function for men
was also statistically significant, 2(36, N 217) 134.87, p
Self-construal M SD M SD df t
.001, and accounted for 73% of the variance in groups. Table 5
Womena,b shows items that met two criteria: (a) a loading of .30 on the
Independent 4.76 0.65 4.93 0.67 324 2.21* canonical discriminant function and (b) a significant t test differ-
Interdependent 5.14 0.66 4.97 0.70 324 2.21* ence at p .05 in the item means across the two groups. In total,
Menc,d
Independent 4.78 0.82 5.10 0.75 214 2.78**
four items for women and five items for men met these criteria.
Interdependent 5.19 0.89 4.89 0.63 214 2.48* In terms of the themes that emerged in these items, results
suggest that compared with U.S. women, Taiwanese women were
Note. Results of a univariate 2 2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) for more likely to endorse as attachment ideals two Anxiety subscale
independent self-construal means shown above: main effect for cultural items involving resenting time ones partner is away and forcing
group, F(1, 538) 13.52, p .001, 2 .021; main effect for sex, F(1,
538) 1.87, ns, 2 .003; Group Sex interaction, F(1, 538) 1.46, partners to show more commitment and feelings. Taiwanese
ns, 2 .003. Univariate 2 2 ANOVA for interdependent self-construal: women were less likely to endorse as attachment ideals two
main effect for cultural group, F(1, 538) 11.69, p .001, 2 .023; reverse-keyed items from the Avoidance subscale involving turn-
main effect for sex, F(1, 538) 0.04, ns, 2 .000; Group Sex ing to ones partner for comfort and reassurance in times of need.
interaction, F(1, 538) 0.88, ns, 2 .002.
a
For Taiwanese women, n 125. b For U.S. women, n 201. c For
Taiwanese men were less likely than their U.S. counterparts to
Taiwanese men, n 152. d For U.S. men, n 64. endorse the same two reverse-keyed Avoidance subscale items
* p .05. ** p .01. chosen by Taiwanese women about relying on ones partner in
200 WANG AND MALLINCKRODT

Table 5
Discriminant Analysis of Individual ECRS Items, Conducted Separately for Women and Men

Taiwanese U.S.
Loading M M Subscale ECRS item and number
a,b
Women

.580 4.21 3.21 Anx. 36. I resent it when my partner spends time away from me.
.442 4.88 5.80 Avd. 35. I turn to my partner for many things, including comfort
and reassurance. (R)
.371 4.52 5.81 Avd. 33. It helps to turn to my romantic partner in times of
need. (R)
.303 4.13 3.39 Anx. 20. Sometimes I feel that I force my partners to show more
feeling, more commitment.

Menc,d

.434 4.12 3.32 Anx. 36. I resent it when my partner spends time away from me.
.373 4.16 5.40 Avd. 35. I turn to my partner for many things, including comfort
and reassurance. (R)
.344 3.91 3.07 Avd. 11. I want to get close to my partner, but I keep pulling
back.
.325 4.82 3.85 Anx. 8. I worry a fair amount about losing my partner.
.325 4.77 5.57 Avd. 33. It helps to turn to my romantic partner in times of
need. (R)

Note. ECRS Experiences in Close Relationships Scale; Avd. Avoidance subscale; Anx. Anxiety
subscale; R indicates that an item is ordinarily reversed keyed when computing ECRS Anxiety or Avoidance
subscales. However, for clarity of presentation in this table, means are presented without reverse keying. Higher
mean scores in all cases indicate stronger agreement with the item on a 5-point scale that ranged from 2 to 6.
Lower means for Taiwanese students on reverse-keyed items indicate more Anxiety or Avoidance. From
Attachment Theory and Close Relationship, by J. A. Simpson and W. S. Rholes, 1998. Copyright 1998 by
Guilford Press. Reprinted with permission.
a
For Taiwanese women, n 117. b For U.S. women, n 191. c For Taiwanese men, n 136. d For U.S.
men, n 60.

times of need. Taiwanese men were more likely than their U.S.
counterparts to endorse an additional Avoidance item about want-
ing to get close but pulling back. Finally, they were more likely
than U.S. men to endorse as ideals two Anxiety items involving
resentment of partners for spending time away and worries about
losing ones partner.
A final follow-up analysis was based on the observation that
estimates of internal reliability (coefficient alpha) for the ECRS-C
in our Taiwanese sample were lower than for the ECRS in our U.S.
sample. For the Avoidance and Anxiety subscales, respectively,
these values were .74 and .83 for the Taiwanese students and .91
and .91, respectively, for U.S. students. Using Feldts (1969)
formula for statistically comparing coefficient alpha, as described
by Mallinckrodt and Wang (2004), the difference in alpha for
Avoidance in the present study was significant, F(267, 279)
2.66, p .01, and the difference in alpha for Anxiety was also
significant, F(267, 279) 1.66, p .01.
Discussion
The chief purpose of this study was to compare Taiwanese and
U.S. young adults with regard to their beliefs about the attachment
of an ideally emotionally and psychologically healthy person of
your own gender in your culture. On the basis of our understand-
ing of Chinese culture in Taiwan and from the results of limited
available research, we expected that ideal adult attachment from
the Taiwanese perspective would involve behavioral norms sug-
gesting more Anxiety and Avoidance than norms concerning ide-
ally secure attachment from the U.S. perspective. This hypothesis
received clear support. In addition to the cultural differences, we
also found statistically significant gender differences in beliefs
about ideal attachment and significant Gender Culture interac-
tions. Because of the different cultural norms between Chinese and
American societies, we also hypothesized that Taiwanese young
adults would report higher interdependent and lower independent
self-construal than their U.S. counterparts; Table 4 shows general
support for this hypothesis. These results are congruent with other
cultural comparison research (e.g., William-Doherty, Hatfield,
Thompson, & Choo, 1994).
However, although we found mean differences across cultures
in support of our third hypothesis about interdependence and
independence, our second hypothesis was only partly supported.
Attachment Anxiety was positively associated with interdependent
self-construal as expected, but the relationship between Avoidance
and independent self-construal was significantly negative for the
Taiwanese group, instead of the positive association we hypothe-
sized. These correlations were small in magnitude (rs .18; see
Table 3) and may have been attenuated because of the marginal
reliability of both SCS subscales for Taiwanese respondents and
for the Independent subscale for U.S. students. It is noteworthy
that only the Avoidance subscale behaved counter to expectations
 CULTURAL BELIEFS ABOUT IDEAL ADULT ATTACHMENT
in these analyses. An important component of independent self-
construal is a willingness to express oneself without self-censoring
for the sake of maintaining social harmony. Attachment avoidance
involves a reluctance to self-disclose because of fear of emotional
intimacy. Perhaps the observed negative correlation was the result
of a tendency toward restrained emotional expression that is char-
acteristic of both high attachment avoidance and low independent
self-construal.
In the follow-up analyses, we believe that the comparison of
differences in internal reliability provide additional support for our
first hypothesis. Although these ECRS-C internal reliability esti-
mates for Taiwanese students are acceptable in absolute terms,
they were significantly lower than the corresponding estimates for
the U.S. sample in this study. The equivalence of the semantic
content of the ECRS and ECRS-C items was quantitatively veri-
fied by Mallinckrodt and Wang (2004), who found that internal
reliability was equivalent in comparisons of same-language versus
split-language versions administered to a bilingual sample of Tai-
wanese international students in the United States. However,
Mallinckrodt and Wang did not conduct a cross-cultural compar-
ison. The finding that coefficient alpha was significantly different
for the two cultural groups examined in the present study suggests
that for Taiwanese students, the ECRS-C items do not measure
cohesive, unitary constructs to the same extent that attachment
anxiety and avoidance are measured by the ECRS items for U.S.
students.
People in Taiwan tend to derive their identity from their group
affiliations and network of relationships. It is a common belief that
the self is inseparable from the relational context and that true
satisfaction and lasting happiness are attained mainly through
achieving a harmonious balance in ones social context. Further-
more, in contrast to the dominant culture in the United States,
which values explicit expression of ones inner feelings and direct
communication of ones emotional needs, in traditional Taiwan-
ese/Chinese culture, such direct expression is generally considered
immature, unacceptable, and threatening to the primary cultural
value of interpersonal harmony (Bagozzi, Wong, & Yi, 1999).
Research suggests that Taiwanese partners in close relationships
attempt to anticipate each others needs without relying on direct
requests of one another (Gao, Ting-Toomey, & Gudykunst, 1996).
In addition, the widespread emphasis in the United States on
emotional separation from parents to give priority to ones spouse
is antithetical to Taiwanese cultural values, which emphasize a
lifelong close emotional connection between parents and children,
especially a mother and her children (Ho, 1989; Moore, 1998). It
is important to note that the enhanced avoidance in Taiwanese
ideal attachment found in the present study was specific to
romantic relationships and may not be found in parent child
relationships.
Given this cultural context, the higher avoidance and higher
anxiety endorsed in Taiwanese ideal adult attachment may reflect
Chinese interpersonal cultural norms especially with regard to
overt behavior concerning social inhibition, emotional restraint,
and discouragement of directly disclosing ones emotional needs
as well as relation-referent self-identity. Results of the discrimi-
nant function analyses appear to support these inferences. The
specific ECRS/ECRS-C items that most strongly differentiated the
two groups in this study seem to involve the themes of cultural
201
difference described above. For example, I turn to my partner for
many things, including comfort and reassurance and It helps to
turn to my romantic partner in times of need were endorsed much
less by Taiwanese than by U.S. students, perhaps because these
items imply a direct expression of needs that is not culturally
acceptable in Taiwan. Furthermore, the finding that Taiwanese
students were more likely to endorse as attachment ideals items
such as I resent it when my partner spends time away from me
and I worry a fair amount about losing my partner may reflect a
relation-based self-identity.
With regard to the universality debate, the strongest test of the
relativist position would be provided by a study designed to
examine Lonner and Ibrahims (1996) functional dimension; that
is, do Taiwanese and U.S. students use their attachment systems to
achieve different goals? The present study does not offer evidence
on this point; therefore, we believe the cultural differences ob-
served in this study should not be interpreted as supporting the
relativist position. Rather, the evidence, at Lonner and Ibrahims
conceptual level of equivalence, suggests that young adults in
these two cultures tend to conceptualize ideal attachment differ-
ently. The magnitude of the mean differences we did find should
be kept in perspective. On the basis of the rough benchmarks
described by Cohen (1969), an effect size of 2 .04 for cultural
differences in mean Anxiety and 2 .16 for Avoidance are best
interpreted as small and moderate effects sizes, respectively
(Vacha-Hasse & Thompson, 2004).
Because these cultural differences remained significant even
after controlling for the effects of self-construal in the
MANCOVA analysis, underlying differences in self-construal do
not appear to be the basis for cultural differences in the way young
adults in our samples think about ideal attachment. Perhaps other
culture-related variables (e.g., emotional expressivity, filial piety,
or norms of proscribed behavior in close romantic relationships)
account for the observed differences in ideal attachment beliefs.
More research certainly is needed to identify possible underlying
factors contributing to these cultural differences.
In terms of practical significance, the findings of this study
suggest that some behaviors and beliefs valued by Taiwanese
regarding healthy ideal attachment could be misperceived from the
U.S. standpoint as reflecting enmeshment, blurred interpersonal
boundaries, and a preoccupation with abandonment. Similarly,
Taiwanese values of restraint in directly disclosing ones emo-
tional needs or asking for help are likely to be misperceived as
attachment avoidance from the Western perspective. It is very
important for counselors and psychologists not to pathologize but
rather to consider these evident differences as diverse ways of
expressing ideal attachment across different cultures (Fiske et al.,
1998; S. Sue, 1999). Research suggests that the Western ideal of
secure attachment is related to positive psychotherapy processes
for U.S. clients (Mallinckrodt, Porter, & Kivlighan, 2005; Meyer
& Pilkonis, 2001), but it is important to avoid the harm that can be
done to clients of other cultures from inappropriate generalization
(D. W. Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992; D. W. Sue & Sue,
1990).
Findings of this study also suggest significant gender differ-
ences in ideal attachment, and significant Gender Culture inter-
actions. U.S. men endorsed significantly more avoidance as part of
their attachment ideal than did U.S. women, whereas Taiwanese
202 WANG AND MALLINCKRODT
men and women did not differ in ideals for either attachment
subscale, and U.S. men and women did not differ in their ideal
beliefs about attachment anxiety. Apparently, U.S. women expect
an ideally attached woman to be more emotionally expressive,
engage in more self-disclosure, and to desire more closeness in
attachments than men expect of an ideally healthy attachment for
a man. This result is consistent with research suggesting that
women in the United States are more willing to express their
feelings and affective experiences and are more expressive about
emotion in close romantic attachments than men (Brody & Hall,
1993; Searle & Meara, 1999; Sprecher & Sedikides, 1993). Of
most interest, these gender differences are not evident in Taiwan.
Perhaps American culture may foster a greater gender difference in
attitudes about ideal attachment than Taiwanese culture. In Amer-
ican society, boys at an early age are often encouraged to be
independent, strong, responsible, and exhibit control over expres-
sions of emotional vulnerability. Boys can be easily shamed by
being labeled like a girl. In contrast, in Taiwanese culture, both
boys and girls are encouraged to remain psychologically and
physically close to their mothers until adolescence, and they are
expected to be obedient and compliant with the advice given by
parents and other family elders (Ho, 1989). Thus, it is possible that
fewer differences between the socialization of boys and girls in
Taiwan result in relatively more similarity in the attachment ideals
of young women and men in Taiwan than in the United States.
However, much more research is needed in this area before a solid
conclusion could be made.
Several important methodological limitations of this study must
be noted. All U.S. participants were undergraduates drawn from a
developmental psychology course in the Midwest. Their beliefs
about ideal attachment may have differed from other undergradu-
ates in other parts of the United States. Similarly, although the
recruitment of Taiwanese participants had a good geographical
balance across the country, their beliefs may not have been similar
to other young adults in Taiwan. In addition, perhaps the slight
difference in age between the two cultural groups may have had an
impact on ideal attachment. Furthermore, although information
regarding the representations of different majors between U.S. and
Taiwanese samples is not available, the Taiwanese sample is likely
to include students with various majors (because the literature
course in Taiwan is required of all college freshman and sopho-
more students), and the U.S. sample is most likely to overrepresent
students majoring in psychology or education. Because it is a
practical impossibility to collect data from members of two dif-
ferent cultures under precisely the same conditions, it is important
to be aware that any of the differences between the collected
samples may have contributed to the observed differences in this
study.
It is also possible that the ideal attachment beliefs reported by
the university students in either culture, most of whom were not
married, are not representative of adults in later stages of devel-
opment. In addition, one should not assume that all individuals
from a particular culture are homogeneous with regard to their
values and beliefs. Therefore, generalization to all young adults in
either culture is uncertain at best. Despite our efforts to document
equivalence of the ECRS-C to the English-language ECRS
(Mallinckrodt & Wang, 2004), it is also possible that cultural
group differences found in this study were the result of remaining
nonequivalence of the translation rather than the result of true
differences in the samples. All data were vulnerable to the biases
inherent in self-report measurement. Although the data were kept
anonymous from the beginning of collection, ratings of ideal
attachment may have been susceptible to social-desirability bias.
Conversely, it could be argued that we were actually attempting to
assess the most socially desirable form of attachment within a
culture. The analysis of retest data suggested that students ratings
of ideal attachment were stable across time, but more research is
clearly needed to substantiate the validity of procedures that ask
participants to provide ratings of hypothetical others.
The primary findings of the present study suggest the presence
of culture-specific beliefs about adult secure attachment between
the two cultural groups. Further research is needed to replicate and
generalize the findings in order to identify the underlying mech-
anisms accounting for the observed differences. Qualitative re-
search methods (e.g., directly asking participants to describe their
ideal attachment relationship) could be helpful to further clarify
the basis for the cross-cultural conceptual differences in ideal
attachment observed in this study. The technique of asking infor-
mants about their view of an ideal state may offer a promising
approach for cultural comparison of values in other domains. A
particularly fruitful area may be further investigation of how
gender, culture, and developmental experience influence how as-
pirations for ideal attachment differ from actual self-perceptions.
Another direction would be to examine the relations of ideal and
actual adult attachment to psychological symptoms, well-being, or
successful adaptation. If this beginning effort at comparing how
ideal adult attachment is conceptualized across cultures can be
extended to examine functional aspects of adult attachment in each
culture, then the community of attachment researchers could draw
closer to forming evidence-based conclusions in the debate about
universality of attachment as applied to adults.
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Received March 7, 2005
Revision received January 5, 2006
Accepted January 18, 2006