Attachment: Role Of Father

Question 1

Evidence: The Father As A Secondary Attachment

Answer 1

• Available evidence suggests that father are much less likely to become babies first attachment figures compared to mothers.
• Schaffer and Emerson found that most babies attached to their mother first at around 7 months, only 3% of the cases was the father.
• In 75% of the infants studied an attachment with father was formed by 18 months - they concluded this as infants protested when their father walked away which is a sign of attachment.
• This suggests that most fathers go onto becoming an important attachment.

Question 2

Evidence: The Distinctive Role Of The Father.

Answer 2

• Grossman carried out a longitudinal study looking both parent’s behaviour and its relationship to quality of children’s attachment in their teens.
• Quality of an infant attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to attachment in adolescents. Suggesting father attachment was less important than mothers.
• However, the quality of fathers play with infants was related to quality of adolescents attachments. This suggests that fathers have a different role in attachment - one that is more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with the nurturing and emotional development.

Question 3

Evidence: Fathers As Primary Carers.

Answer 3

• There is some evidence to suggest that when fathers do take on the role of being the main caregiver they adopt behaviours more typical of mothers.
• Field filmed 4 months old babies in face to face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers. The primary spent more time smiling, imitating and hold infants than secondary fathers. This links to the importance of reciprocity and interactional synchrony which is part of attachment formation.
• This suggests that the key to the attachment relationship is level of responsiveness not the gender of parents. Therefore suggesting father’s have the potential to be the more emotion focused primary attachment figure if required.

Question 4

Weakness: There Are Inconsistent Findings.

Answer 4

• There are inconsistent findings on the role of fathers because different researchers are interested in different questions.
• Some psychologists are interested in fathers’ role as a secondary caregiver while others are interested in their role as a primary attachment figure.
• This is a problem as psychologists cannot easily answer the question of ‘what is the role of the father?’

Question 5

Weakness: Children Without Fathers Are Not Showing Any Difference.

Answer 5

• If fathers have a distinct role, we would expect those without them to be different but they are not.
• Grossman’s study suggests that fathers have a distinct role in play however other studies such as MacCallum and Golombok found that children growing up in a single or same sex parent families do not develop any differently.
• This suggests that Grossman’s findings that the father has a unique role in child development are not supported.

Question 6

Strength: Research In This Area Can Be Beneficial For Father Custody.

Answer 6

• Research in this area could have benefits for fathers aiming to be granted joint or full custody of their children.
• Research suggesting that fathers have a unique role to play or they can be just as nurturing if they take on the role as primary caregivers highlights the importance of relationships if courts are asked to grant custody of a child.
• This shows that this research has important implications.

Question 7

Strength: Research Suggests Fathers Are Important Attachment Figures - Shaffer And Emerson.

Answer 7

• Shaffer and Emerson’s research showed fathers are important secondary attachment figures.
• In 75% of the infants studied an attachment was formed with the father by age of 18 months.
• This was shown when the baby protesting which is a sign of attachment.
• Therefore increasing the validity of the importance of fathers as there is research to back it up.

Question 8

Strength: Field’s Research Showed Gender Of Caregiver Doesn’t Matter.

Answer 8

• Field’s research showed that the gender of the person on the primary caregiver role is less important than their responsiveness.
• Field filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interaction with primary care givers.
• She found out that the gender wasn’t important instead it mattered for how the fathers interacted with the child e.g smiling etc.
• Their behaviour therefore suggests to be important in building attachment with the baby/infant. Overall suggesting the key to the attachment relationship is the level if responsiveness not the gender.

Question 9

Weakness: Taylor Suggests High Level Oestrogen Is Needed To Be Truly Nurturing Caregivers.

Answer 9

• Taylor suggests that fathers lack the higher levels of oestrogen needed to be truly nurturing caregivers.
• Women have hormones such as oestrogen which causes them to have higher levels of nurturing making them biologically better to be the primary attachment figure.
• However this argument can be criticised as it is seen as very stereotypical as it is seen as it is pushing the idea that all women are caring and disregards men to be incompetent to be caring.