The role of the father

Question 1

Grossman’s research (2002) on distinctive role of fathers

Answer 1

Longitudinal study - babies’ attachment studied until teens
Researchers looked at parents’ behaviour and relationship to quality of later attachments to other people

Question 2

Grossman’s (2002) findings

Answer 2

Quality of a baby’s attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to attachments in adolescence
Found quality of fathers’ play was related to quality of adolescent attachments - fathers have a different role from mothers (play+stimulation)

Question 3

Field (1978) research

Answer 3

Filmed 4 month olds in face to face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers

Question 4

Field (1978) findings

Answer 4

PCG fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies
-> All part of reciprocity and interactional synchrony part of the process of attachment formation

Question 5

Field (1978) conclusions

Answer 5

Fathers have the potential to be more emotion-focused PAF - can provide responsiveness required for close emotional attachment but perhaps only when given role of PCG

Question 6

Strength of research

Answer 6

Can be used as advice for roles of parents
e.g. who stays at home to look after baby

Question 7

Limitation of research

Answer 7

McCallum + Golombok (2004) studied single mother and lesbian parent families and found children do not develop differently from children in 2 parent heterosexual families
If father’s have distinctive role we would expect findings to be different