Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs
Published on: October 13, 2017
Culture and attachment preference among young adults in Egypt and the United States
Musheera Anis Abdellatif1, Harry Freeman2, Gabrielle Strouse3
1Department of Public Health and Health Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, USA.
Abstract:
We explored the relationship between cultural values, recollected early caregiving experiences and young adult attachment preference. Young adults in Egypt (N = 209) and the United States (N = 554) ranked their current attachment preference, rated their collectivist and individualist beliefs, and recalled the relative contributions of their early caregivers. Egyptian students scored higher than US students on collectivism and recalled more involvement from non-parental caregivers. Most participants reported a preference hierarchy (82% Egypt & 84% US). Surprisingly, individualism was negatively associated with maternal attachment ratings and with having a clear principal attachment relationship, whereas higher collectivism predicted higher maternal attachment. Findings suggest that attachment hierarchies are normative across varying cultural and child-rearing contexts.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Surveys
Attachment
Social Proof
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Cultural Influences on Personality

