role of the father ao3

Question 1

weakness - confusion of research questoion

Answer 1

P: A big issue with the research int the role of the father is the lack of clarity over the question being asked
E: eg some researchers like grossman are interested in their role as a secondary attachment figure whilst others like field et al are interested in their role as a primary attachment figure.
E: thus their findings will vary depending on the question. some researchers find fathers behaving like a primary carer and others find father in a distinctive role, as a secondary caregiver.
L; so different research questions with different findings makes it more difficult to offer a simple answer to what the role of the father is. bc this dep on what specific role is being discussed

Question 2

weakness -conflicting evidence

Answer 2

P; a further limitation into the role of the father is that there is alot of conflicting evidence
E: On one hand longitudinal studies (grossman et al) have suggested fathers are secondary attachment figure with a important, distinct role in childrens attachment
E: however is this was the case we would therfore expect that children growing up in singe mother and lesbian parent homes to turn out different in some way but this is not the case (mccallum and golomok 2004)
L; thus the conflicting evidence means the question as to whether fathers have a distincive role remains unanswered.

Question 3

strength - real word app

Answer 3

P: One strength of research into the role f the father its its real life application into offering advice to parents
E: whereby difficult decisions over roles can cause pressure or confusion, prospective parents could start considering whether or not to have a child at all.
E: research can be used to offer reassurance to parents, eg explaining that fathers are just as able to be primary caregivers like mothers are (field 1978)
L; so research into the role of the father can be used in the real world to offer reassuring advice and reduce parental anxiety.