From Psychologies · Guillaume Servant · · 1m 10s
Fear of abandonment linked to more children
People fearing abandonment may have more children, study shows.
In brief
People fearing abandonment may have more children, study shows. A study found people with insecure attachment styles have slightly more children than secure ones, with cultural differences in results. Originally reported by Psychologies.
Study finds link between fear of abandonment and family size
A study published in the International Journal of Psychology found people with insecure attachment styles had slightly more children on average than those with secure styles.
“Essentiellement, les styles d'attachement habituellement qualifiés d'insécurés (c'est-à-dire craintif et préoccupé) étaient liés au fait d'avoir plus d'enfants”
Cultural differences in family size patterns
In Canada and the US, secure attachment linked to smaller families, but in Japan, insecure styles correlated with more children.
“Au Japon, ce lien n'apparaît pas, alors que le style craintif reste corrélé à davantage d'enfants”
Researchers surveyed 15,120 adults across three countries
Researchers analyzed responses from 15,120 adults across Japan, Canada, and the US, with five age groups from 20 to over 60 years.
“15 120 adultes, soit 5 040 par pays”
Gender differences in attachment styles
In North America, women showed more anxious styles while men were more avoidant; in Japan, women combined secure, anxious, and avoidant styles.
“Les femmes combinent davantage styles sécurés, préoccupés et distants, les hommes restant surtout craintifs”
Cultural influence on family size decisions
Cultural norms shape how attachment styles affect family size, with Japan showing different patterns than North America.
“Je dois l'admettre, la divergence observée au Japon était intéressante et montre vraiment à quel point les normes culturelles autour de la famille sont influentes”
The essence
A study found people with insecure attachment styles have slightly more children than secure ones, with cultural differences in results.
