Japan–US comparison of mothers’ wishes for their children’s futures in the context of attachment

ABSTRACT

This study explored cross-cultural similarities and differences between Japanese and U.S. mothers’ wishes for their children’s futures based on their responses to one question asked toward the end of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). We also examined empirically whether mothers’ responses to this particular question would be consistent with their attachment representation to confirm the utility of this question in the AAI classification process. Japanese mothers (N = 48) and U.S. mothers (N = 62) reported their wishes for their children’s futures during the AAI. Types of wishes discussed by Japanese mothers and U.S. mothers largely overlapped (Well-being, Achievement, Personal fulfillment, and Relationship), but culture-specific types of wishes were also found (Peace making/Fitting in only for Japanese mothers and Religion only for U.S. mothers). Wishes discussed by secure mothers in both cultures for their children often demonstrated their valuing of affective relationships, consistent with secure states of mind, whereas insecure mothers’ wishes were sometimes unrealistic or more instrumental/materialistic, consistent with insecure states of mind. Future studies on attachment and parental wishes for children are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• AAI
• maternal wishes
• cross-cultural
• Japan–U.S

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 We recognize there is an overlap between the concept of ‘parental wish’ and that of, for example, ‘parental goal’ or ‘parental aspiration’, and there is an extensive literature on these topics. To maintain focus, however, we have only reviewed studies that specifically used the term, ‘parental wish’.

2 Some Japanese mothers did not provide all three wishes.

3 To account for missing wishes, we used an average rating score for each mother.