The Influence of Culturally Derived Values on Anglo and Puerto Rican Mothers' Perceptions of Attachment Behavior

This 2-part investigation examined indigenous concepts of desirable and undesirable attachment behavior among middle- and lower-class Anglo and lower-class Puerto Rican mothers in order to formulate culturally sensitive criteria of normative attachment behavior. Study 1 elicited indigenous concepts of desirable and undesirable attachment behavior using open-ended probes. On the basis of mothers' responses in Study 1, culturally sensitive vignettes of desirable and undesirable attachment behavior were constructed, and culturally relevant descriptors of toddler characteristics were selected. In Study 2, mothers' perceptions of the hypothetical toddlers were compared using the selected descriptors. The findings indicate that, whereas the Anglo mothers focus more on characteristics associated with the presence or absence of individual autonomy, the Puerto Rican mothers place more emphasis on the child's ability to maintain proper demeanor in a public context. These findings were coherent across mothers': (a) open-ended conceptualizations, (b) desirability ratings, and (c) descriptor ratings of the toddlers.