A: The role of the father

Question 1

Primary attachment

Answer 1

Schaffer and Emerson found majority of babies became attached to mother first (at around 7 months). Only 3% of cases father was first sole object of attachment. 27% of cases father was first join object of attachment with mother. Within a few weeks or months they then form secondary attachments to other family members, including father.

Question 2

Secondary attachment to father

Answer 2

75% of infants- attachment formed with father by 18 months. Indicated by the fact infants protested when father walked away, sign of attachment.

Question 3

Teen attachment & the father’s role

Answer 3

Grossmann longitudinal study looking at parents’ behaviour and it’s relationship to quality of children’s attachments into their teens. Found that quality of attachment with father was less important in attachment type of the teenagers than quality of attachment with the mother. Therefore, fathers may be less important in long-term emotional development.

Question 4

Fathers & play

Answer 4

Quality of fathers play with infants related to children’s attatchments. Suggests that fathers do have a different role in attachment, more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with nurturing.

Question 5

Fathers as primary caregivers

Answer 5

Evidence suggests that when fathers take on role of being main caregiver they adopt behaviours more typical of mothers. Field filmed 4-month-old babies and found primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than secondary caregiver fathers.

Question 6

Significance of level of response from the parent

Answer 6

Smiling, imitating and holding infants are behaviours that appear important in building an attachment with an infant. So seems the father can be the more nurturing attachment figure. Key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent.

Question 7

Limitations of fatherly roles

Answer 7

EVIDENCE UNDERMINES IDEA OF FATHERS HAVING DISTINCT ROLES: Grossman found fathers as secondary attatchment figures had an important role in children’s development, involving play and stimulation. Other studies found children growing up in single or same-sex parent families don’t develop differently from those in typical families. Suggests fathers role as secondary attachment figure not important.
FAILS TO PROVIDE CLEAR ANSWER ABOUT FATHERS AND PRIMARY ATTACHMENT: could be related to traditional roles where women expected to be more caring and nurturing than men. Therefore, fathers simply don’t feel they should act in a nurturing way. Or could be that female humans (e.g. oestrogen) create higher levels of nurturing and therefore women are biologically predisposed to be primary attachment figures.
IMPORTANT ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS: mothers feel pressured to stay home because of research that says mothers are vital for healthy emotional development. For some families it may not be economically the best solution- for them or our society in general. This research may be of comfort to mothers who feel they have to make hard choices about not returning to work.