Attachment in cultural context differences in attachment between Eastern and Western Europeans and the role of attachment styles in Eastern European migrants' adjustment

122 Pages·2007·1.01 MB·English

by  Elżbieta Polek

Attachment in cultural context

Differences in Attachment between Eastern and Western Europeans
and the Role of Attachment Styles in Eastern European Migrants’
Adjustment
ISBN-978-90-367-3306-9

© 2007, Elżbieta Polek
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm,
or any other means without written permission from the author, except in the case of
quotations in reviews, articles, books etc.

The present research was founded by the Ubbo-Emmius Foundation of the
University Groningen

Printed by Grafex

The author can be reached through email: [email protected]
RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN

Attachment in Cultural Context

Differences in Attachment between Eastern and Western Europeans
and the Role of Attachment Styles in Eastern European Migrants’
Adjustment

Proefschrift

ter verkrijging van het doctoraat in de
Gedrags- en Maatschappijwetenschappen
aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
op gezag van de
Rector Magnificus, dr. F. Zwarts,
in het openbaar te verdedigen op
donderdag 24 januari 2008
om 14.45 uur

door

Elżbieta Polek

geboren op 3 juli 1974
te Olsztyn, Polen
Promotores: Prof. dr. J.P.L.M. van Oudenhoven
Prof. dr. J.M.F. ten Berge

Beoordelingscommissie: Prof. dr. B. de Raad
Prof. dr. R. Goodwin
Prof. dr. P.L.C. van Geert
Contents

Preface and acknowledgements 1

Chapter 1:
Introduction 5

Chapter 2:
Evaluating the Replicability of the Bartholomew and Horowitz Model
of Attachment in one Native Dutch and Four Immigrant Samples 15

Chapter 3:
Attachment Styles and Demographic Factors as Predictors
of Sociocultural and Psychological Adjustment of Eastern European
Immigrants in The Netherlands 35

Chapter 4:
Evidence for a “Migrant Personality”:
Attachment Styles of Poles in Poland and Poles in The Netherlands
49

Chapter 5:
A Cultural Look at Parenting and Attachment Styles
in Eastern and Western Europe 63

Chapter 6:
Discussion and Implications 83

Summary 94
References 100
Appendix 121

1
Preface and Acknowledgments

The present research was conducted with the help of many people. I would
like to thank some of them for their support. First and foremost, I am very
grateful to my supervisors – Professors Jan Pieter van Oudenhoven and Jos
ten Berge for their great contribution to this dissertation and to my
development as a researcher. When being supervised by them, I also had an
opportunity to co-supervise the work of Joachim Wöhrle, whom I would like
to thank for an inspiring exchange of ideas, his help in data-entering and his
sense of humor. Our cooperation truly established a new era in Polish-
German relations.

I wish to thank all the respondents who participated in my surveys, my
colleague, Jacomijn Hofstra, for access to the data from the Dutch sample
used in chapters 2 and 4, Veerle Brems, for collecting the data from the
Dutch parents used in chapter 5, Naima El-Boundati, for collecting data from
the Moroccan sample used in chapter 2, and Anna Szewczyk, for helping to
collect the data from Polish parents used in chapter 5. Special thanks go to
my Hungarian friends - Tamás Bíró and Andrea Szentgyörgyi, for translating
questionnaires and their help in the survey in Budapest. Katia Kalinina –
thank you for Russian translations and helping me in St. Petersburg. Also I
would like to thank Pr. Sławomir Trypuć and Bartłomijej Małys, and Mrs.
Małgorzata Bos-Karczewska for their help in data collection from Polish
immigrants in the Netherlands.

Many thanks to my roommates – Jacomijn, Ester, and Irene and other
colleges from DPMG, especially Jorge, Rink, Arnaud, and Ilse; Hanny Baan,
the secretary of our department who always swiftly handled my requests, and
the ever kind and competent librarians, portieres and staff of the “Repro”,
who printed the hundreds of questionnaires used in this project.

I would like to thank my dear friends and colleagues who made my stay in
Groningen memorable: Koen van Breackel, Yorgos Vleioras, Carmen
Carmona, Huadong Yang, Anna Lichtwark, Laura Ballato, Simon Dalley,
István Back and my fantastic housemate – Paco Guzman-Muñoz. Thanks to
Magda Gołachowska and Kacper Wojtal, I didn’t forget Polish language;
Dimitry – Balshoje spasiba za razgavory! Hartelijk dank to Pieter van Hoek
for our wonderful talks about life and philosophy and for debriefing me about
Dutch politics. Many thanks to Max Nuijens for supporting me when I really
needed it.
I am thankful to Anne Boomsma, for being not only a knowledgeable
professor, but also a wise person, and AIO-advisor Dr. Jose Heesink, for her
help, as well as many other people for their support. Please forgive me for not
mentioning all of your names individually.

I am also obliged to Ela & Romek Mizera for their generous support, Leszek
Wołejko for a “technical support”, Luc Wasungu and Joanna Tadzik for all
the good things I experienced from them. Finally, I would like to say thank
you to Benjamin Cope, who did a proofreading of this thesis.

Credit and thanks for the successful completion of my Ph.D. project I happily
share with all these people. I dedicate this dissertation to my mom and dad,
and Krzysztof, my wonderful brother.
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