role of the father Flashcards
parental involvement
amount of time father spend interacting with, being accessible to or being directly involved in daily care of children
what do schaffer & emerson suggest about role of fathers?
- majority of children become attached to mother at 7ish months
- 3% of cases = father was 1st sole attachment
- 27% of cases = father was joint 1st object of attachment w/ mother
- most father go on to become important attachment figures eg. by 18 months, 75% of babies formed attachment with father
describe grossman et. al research (2002)
- longitudinal study
- looked at parents behaviour & its relationship to quality of children’s attachment (into their teens)
- quality of infant attachment with mothers (not fathers) was related to child’s attachment in adolescents –> suggests father attachment less important
- quality of fathers play w/ infants has a diff. role in attachment
what did grossman et. al support
that there’s a separate role for fathers
describe field (1987) research
- filmed 4-month old babies in face-to-face interaction w/ primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers & primary caregiver fathers
- both primary caregivers spent more time smiling, imitating & holding infants
- behaviour appears to be important in building attachment w/ infant
- key to attachment relationship = level of responsiveness NOT gender
what did field support
that fathers can be primary caregivers
evidence for role of fathers in attachment: impact of culture
ucrata et. al:
- showed in russia there’s still a negative attitude to men/fathers
- seen as ‘less than secondary parents being perceived as weak, infertile & irresponsible’
- showed that most believe women should stay at home whilst men are providers
nakazawa & shwalb:
- in japan, there’s been a shift in attitudes towards role of father
- pre-war fathers were supposed to be strict authoritarian figures
- however, they’re now seen to be more important than just economic provider
- encouraged to spend more time at home
what does the impact of culture (regarding role of fathers) suggest
- fathers role differs in diff. cultures/societies
- in some cultures, babies are more likely to form attachments w/ fathers
evidence for role of fathers in attachment: impact of economy
- many places in the world, men work miles away from home to provide income for families
- many others have to work long hours
what does the impact of economy (regarding role of fathers) suggest
they don’t have a large role as expected to base time on working & providing an income
evidence for role of fathers in attachment: impact of social policies
paternity
- as of 2021 (UK), a father can take 1/2 week paternity leave
- taken in 1 go
- ‘week’ = how many days they work in a week
maternity
- in contrast, maternity leave is 52 weeks
- do not have to take all
- must take 2 weeks leave after birth or 4 weeks if factory work
what does the impact of social policies (regarding role of fathers) suggest
- fathers don’t have large role as they are expected to continue working
- mother stays home & cares for baby
- mother/infant form stronger attachment
evidence for role of fathers in attachment: impact of biology
- heerman et. al suggested women may develop emotional sensitivity ton infant cues as they produce oestrogen (induces nurturing nature)
- however, nordqvist showed men show substantial drop in testosterone levels when 1st united with newborn baby
- fathers most involved in childcare = largest drop in testosterone
what does the impact of biology (regarding role of fathers) suggest
testosterone isn’t compatible with caring for a child
evidence for role of fathers in attachment: impact of child
age:
- freeman showed children more likely to be attached to father during late childhood/early adolescence
gender:
- freeman showed male children more likely to prefer father as attachment figure
- manlove showed fathers less likely to be involved if infant has difficult temperament
what do these differences (of the child) suggest for the role of fathers
the level of attachment between father/infant are based upon individual differences
evaluation of research into role of father AO3
-)
P: lack of clarity over question being asked
E: some psychologists interested in understanding role of fathers as secondary attachment figures whereas some are concerned with fathers as primary caregivers
T: difficult to offer simple answer as it depends on the specific role being discussed
+)
P: research can be used to offer advice to parents
E: research used to offer reassuring advice to parents - eg. heterosexual parents can be informed that fathers are capable of becoming primary attachment figures. also, lesbian-parents/single-mother families can be informed thar not having a father present doesn’t affect a child’s development
T: parental stress/anxiety about the role of the father can be reduced
-)
P: findings vary according to methodology used
E: eg. longitudinal studies found the fathers have a distinct role (eg. grossman et. al - play/stimulation). however, if this was true, we would expect children living in lesbian-parent/single-mother families would be different than those in heterosexual families. mccallum & golombok (2004) consistently showed these children don’t develop differently
T: question as to whether fathers have a distinct role remains unanswered
COUNTERPOINT
P: lines of research may not conflict
E: it could be that fathers typically take distinctive roles in heterosexual families but parents in single-mother/lesbian-parent families adapt to accommodate the role of the father
T: question of the distinctive role of the father is clear
X -)
P: observer bias
E: observer/researcher may obtain preconcieved ideas of stereotypical role of father due to accounts/images of parenting roles/behaviour - eg. advertising. these stereotypes could cause unintentional observer bias
