role of the father Flashcards
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 & what does this suggest
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
suggests:
fathers role differs in different cultures/societies
evidence for role of fathers in attachment: impact of economy & what does this suggest
- many places in the world, men work miles away from home to provide income for families
- many others have to work long hours
suggests:
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 & what does this suggest
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
suggests:
- 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 child & what does this suggest
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
attitude:
- manlove showed fathers less likely to be involved if infant has difficult temperament
suggests:
the level of attachment between father/infant are based upon individual differences
AO3 -) lack of clarity over question being asked
E:
- some psychologists interested in understanding role of fathers as secondary attachment figures
- some are concerned with fathers as primary caregivers
T: difficult to offer simple answer as it depends on the specific role being discussed
AO3 +) 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
- eg. lesbian-parents/single-mother families can be informed that 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
AO3 -) findings vary according to methodology used
+) lines of research may not conflict
E:
- eg. longitudinal studies found 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 to 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
HOWEVER: lines of research may not conflict
- 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
EXTRA AO3 -) observer bias
E:
- observer/researcher may obtain preconceived ideas of stereotypical role of father due to accounts/images of parenting roles/behaviour
- eg. advertising
T: stereotypes could cause unintentional observer bias
