Role Of The Father

Question 1

Why are roles between the mother and the father different? (Lamb 1997)

Answer 1

Lamb says that infants approach both parents often, however at times of distress they seek out the mother.
Father have a more playful, fun role
Mothers have a more nurturing, dutiful role
If father has to become the main care provider, he quickly develops sensitivity towards his child’s needs therefore sensitive responsiveness isn’t biologically limited to only women.

Question 2

What are the roles? (Grossman 2002)

Answer 2

Grossman carried out a longitudinal study looking at the how the quality of relationships between parents and children changed from infancy into their teens.

He found that quality of the mother child attachment was important when assessing quality of attachment into adolescence (better social skills etc)
So he says the father role is less important
He also found that fathers have a stimulatory role in their child’s long term development.

Question 3

What are the general problems with the area of research around the role of the father?

Answer 3

-Expections about gender roles may cause bias
-Social stereotypes surrounding fathers ‘typical’ behaviour could affect the validity of observational research
-The stereotypes of father may cause unintentional observer bias where the observers ‘see’ what they expect rather than the actual validity
Conclusion: These biases prove how hard it is for father to detach from their social biases of their role

Question 4

Differing family types and changes in social and individual factors

Answer 4

-1 in 4 dependant children live with a single parent (usually the mother)
-For the cases where it is the father, single fathers being both the breadwinners and the main caregivers could affect secure child-father attachments
-Overall social and individual factors are crucial in shaping paternal care
-Overall with social attitudes and changes in employment patterns, fathers are now playing an increasingly active role in the care of their children. This challenges the traditional stereotypes and proves how men are biologically inclined to adapt to nurturing and caregiver roles