role of the father

Question 1

What are the 3 main studies into the Role of the Father?

Answer 1

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
Grossman
Field (1978)

Question 2

What did Schaffer and Emerson (1964) find about the Role of the Father?

Answer 2

-In 75% of cases infants had formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months.
-In 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with the mother.
-In only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment.

Question 3

What % of infants did Schaffer and Emerson find had formed an attachment by 18 months?

Answer 3

75%

Question 4

What % of infants did Schaffer and Emerson find had the father as the joint first attachment with the mother?

Answer 4

27%

Question 5

What % of infants did Schaffer and Emerson find had the father as the sole primary attachment?

Answer 5

3%

Question 6

What study found these results?:
-In 75% of cases infants had formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months.
-In 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with the mother.
-In only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment.

Answer 6

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

Question 7

What was the procedure of Grossman’s study?

Answer 7

-a longitudinal study of 44 families comparing the role of fathers’ & mothers’ contribution to their children’s attachment experiences at 6, 10 and 16 years.

Question 8

What ages did Grossman compare each parents’ contribution to children’s attachment experiences?

Answer 8

6, 10 and 16

Question 9

What were the findings of Grossman’s study?

Answer 9

-The quality of an infant’s attachment with mothers (but not fathers) was related to attachments in adolescence.
-The quality of a father’s play with infants was closely linked to the quality of adolescent attachments they had with their children.

Question 10

What study researching role of the father found this?:
-The quality of an infant’s attachment with mothers (but not fathers) was related to attachments in adolescence.
-The quality of a father’s play with infants was closely linked to the quality of adolescent attachments they had with their children.

Answer 10

Grossman

Question 11

What was the procedure of Field (1978)’s study?

Answer 11

-compared the behaviours of primary caretaker mothers with primary and secondary caretaker fathers.
-Face-to-face interactions were analyzed from video footage with infants at 4 months of age.

Question 12

What did Field (1978) find?

Answer 12

-fathers engaged more in game playing and held their infants less.
-However, primary caretaker fathers engaged in significantly more smiling, imitative grimaces, and imitative vocalizations than secondary caretaker fathers and these were comparable with mothers’ behaviour.

Question 13

What are five factors that influence the role of the father?

Answer 13

-cultural and economic factors
-social policies
-age and gender
-temperament
-biology

Question 14

How can cultural and economic factors influence the role of the father?

Answer 14

-In many parts of the world such as Southern Africa and Asia, men work several hundreds of miles
away from their homes to provide an income for their families or have to work long hours making hands-on involvement with children impossible.
-Shifting labour force patterns including an increase of the female labour force and increasing opportunities that allow both mothers and fathers to be active as parents and employees, facilitating formation of an attachment between father and infant.

Question 15

How can social policies influence the role of the father?

Answer 15

-In the UK, fathers until very recently were not given any extended paternal leave so the responsibility for childcare was implicitly given to the mothers. This could change the attachment the children make with their fathers.
-(This was not the case in every country so the pattern of attachment might be different elsewhere)
-Two weeks minimum paternity pay can split the 52 weeks maternity leave with the mother of the child if wished.

Question 16

How can age and gender influence the role of the father?

Answer 16

-Freeman found that male children are more likely to prefer their father as an attachment figure than female children.
-He also found that children are more likely to be attached to their father during their late childhood to early adolescence.
-Infants and young adults are less likely to seek attachment to their fathers.

Question 17

How can temperament influence the role of the father?

Answer 17

-According to Manlove fathers are less likely to be involved with their infant if the infant has a difficult temperament.

Question 18

How can biology influence the role of the father?

Answer 18

-The different hormones in men/women may play a role. Oestrogen underlies caring behaviour, which may make women biological more suited to forming attachments.

Question 19

What are the strengths of research into role of the father?

Answer 19

-can be used to offer advice to parents
-counterpoint to the idea that research around roles of the father a provide conflicting evidence.

Question 20

What are the limitations of research into role of the father?

Answer 20

-studies provide conflicting evidence
-lack of clarity over the question being asked

Question 21

Explain the limitation of research into the role of the father that: there is a lack of clarity over the question being asked.

Answer 21

-The question, “What is the role of the father?” in the context of attachment is complicated
-Some researchers want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures- they have seen fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role.
-But others are more concerned with fathers
as a primary attachment figure- they have found that fathers can take on a ‘maternal role’.
-This makes it difficult to offer a simple answer because it depends what specific role is being discussed.

Question 22

Explain the limitation of research into the role of the father that: studies provide conflicting evidence

Answer 22

-Longitudinal studies suggest fathers have a distinct role in children’s development
-However, if true then those raised without fathers should turn out differently to those raised with
-Studies consistently show there is no difference
-This means that the question as to whether fathers have a distinctive role
remains unanswered.

Question 23

Explain the strength of research into the role of the father that: it can be used to offer advice to parents

Answer 23

-Parents stress over roles and feel pressure to fulfill stereotypes (mom more involved and stays at home, dads focus on work)
-research can be used to advise parents that dads can be a primary attachment figure and children raised without dads wont develop differently.
-this means parents can make educated decisions and relieves parental anxiety

Question 24

Explain the counterpoint to the idea that research around roles of the father a provide conflicting evidence.

Answer 24

-Dads have a distinct role in heterosexuyal couple families but single/lesbian mothers can adapt
-This provides a clear answer about the role after-all