The role of the father Flashcards
describe the role of the father
most attachment research has focused on the mother and baby attachment, the role of the father in development has often been neglected
there is research on the specific roles that fathers play in development (the father does not specifically have to be a biological parent, it is a child’s closest male caregiver)
describe attachment to fathers
evidence suggests that fathers are much less likely to become a baby’s first attachment figure compared to mothers
schaffer and emerson found that the majority of babies first became attached to their mother at around 7 months, in only 3% of cases was the father the first sole object of attachment
in 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with the mother
however, it appears that most fathers go on to become an important attachment figure
75% of babies studied by schaffer and emerson formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months - determined by the fact babies protested when their father walked away (separation anxiety)
do fathers have a distinctive role in a child’s development
grossmann et al. (2002) carried out a longitudinal study where babies’ attachments were studied until they were into their teens
the researchers looked at both parents’ behaviour and its relationship to the quality of their baby’s later attachments to other people
the quality of attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to attachments in adolescence
this suggests that attachment to fathers is less important than attachment to mothers
however, grossmann et al. also found that the quality of fathers’ play with babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachments, suggesting fathers have a different role from mothers, one that is more involved with play and stimulation
describe fathers as primary attachment figures
a baby’s relationship with their primary attachment figure forms the basis of all later close emotional relationships
there is some evidence to suggest that when fathers do take on the role of primary caregiver they are able to adopt the emotional role more typically associated with mothers
field (1978) filmed 4 month old babies in face-to-face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver father
PCGFs, like PCGMs, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than the SCGFs
these interactions are all part of reciprocity and interactional synchrony, which, are part of attachment formation (isabella et al. 1989)
it seems fathers have the potential to be the more emotion-focused primary attachment figure, but can only express this when given the role of PCG
how does research into the role of fathers lack clarity over research questions (limitation)
the question of ‘what is the role of the father?’ in attachment is much more complex than it sounds
some researchers want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures, whereas others are more concerned with them as a primary attachment figure
the former sees fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinctive role
the latter have found that fathers can take on a maternal role
therefore, it is difficult to offer a simple answer to the role of the father as the role is broad
how do findings vary according to the methodology used (limitation)
longitudinal studies such as that of grossmann have suggested that fathers as a secondary attachment figure have an important role in play and stimulation
however, if this is so, we would expect that children growing up in single-mother and lesbian-parent families would turn out in some way different from those in two-parent heterosexual families
studies consistently show that these children do not develop differently
therefore, the question as to whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered
describe if these lines of research are in fact in conflict (counterpoint)
it could be that fathers typically take on distinctive roles in two-parent heterosexual families, but that parents in single-mother and single-parent families simply adapt to accommodate the role played by fathers
therefore, the question of a distinctive role for fathers is clear; families can adapt to the father role when a father figure is absent
how can research into the role of the father be used to offer advice to parents (strength)
parents and prospective parents can agonise over decisions like who should take on the primary caregiver role
mothers may feel pressured to stay home, fathers may feel pressured to focus on work rather than parenting
lesbian-parent and single-mother families may worry about their child’s development
research into the role of the father can offer reassuring advice to subvert these stereotypes
therefore, parental anxiety about the role of fathers can be reduced
