Family Systems Theory, Attachment Theory, and Culture*

Family systems theory and attachment theory have important similarities and complementarities. Here we consider two areas in which the theories converge: (a) in family system theorists ’ description of an overly close, or “enmeshed, ” mother-child dyad, which attachment theorists concep-tualize as the interaction of children’s am-bivalent attachment and mothers ’ preoc-cupied attachment; (b) in family system theorists ’ description of the “pursuer-dis-tance cycle ” of marital conflict, which at-tachment theorists conceptualize as the in-teraction of preoccupied and dismissive partners. We briefly review family systems theory evidence, and more extensively re-view attachment theory evidence, pertain-ing to these points of convergence. We also review cross-cultural research, which leads us to conclude that the dynamics described in both theories reflect, in part, Western ways of thinking and Western patterns of relatedness. Evidence from Ja-pan suggests that extremely close ties be-tween mother and child are perceived as adaptive, and are more common, and that children experience less adverse effects from such relationships than do children in the West. Moreover, in Japan there is less emphasis on the importance of the exclusive spousal relationship, and less need for the mother and father to find time alone to rekindle romantic, intimate feel-ings and to resolve conflicts by openly com-municating their differences. Thus, the “maladaptive ” pattern frequently cited by Western theorists of an extremely close mother-child relationship, an unroman-tic, conflictual marriage characterized by little verbal communication and a periph-eral, distant father, may function very dif-ferently in other cultures. While we believe that both theories will be greatly enriched by their integration, we caution against the application of either theory outside the cultures in which they were developed