The role of the father Flashcards
When fathers take on the caregiver role what do they adopt?
Behavior more typical of mothers
What is supporting research for the role of the father?
Schaffer and emerson
Field
Grossman
Mccallum and golombok
What did Schaffer and Emerson find?
The majority of infants attach to the mother at first at around 7 months and shortly after this they form secondary attachments to other family members (father)
75% of children had formed attachments to fathers by the age of 18 months
What does Schaffers and emersons study tell us about the importance of fathers in attachment?
(2 things)
-Fathers role may not be as important as the mothers as they’re usually the secondary attachment figures, not the primary
-Tells us that children do form attachments to the father which proves it is important in the development but not as imp as the mother
What did field find?
If the father is the primary caregiver, they spend as much time smiling, imitating, and holding the infants as the mother
What does Fields study tell us about the importance of fathers in attachment?
-That if fathers do take on the primary caregiving role, they’re just as able to meet a child’s emotional needs,
-meaning they are just as important as the mothers in attachment and are as effective at forming primary attachments as the mother
What did Grossman find?
The quality of a father’s play with infants was related to the quality of a child’s attachment in adolescence
What does Grossmans study tell us about the importance of fathers in attachment?
The father does play an important role in attachment but its not the emotional role that helps develop the quality of attachments later on, its the social interactions
What did Mccallum and Golombok find?
Children growing up in single or same-sex parent families don’t develop any differently from those in 2 parent heterosexual families
What does Mccallum and Golombok study tell us about the importance of fathers in attachment?
It shows that quality attachment is less to do with the gender of the parent and instead its more about the interactions.
meaning if the primary attachment figure has high quality emotional needs, the child will develop a strong attachment bond
Why don’t fathers generally become the primary attachment figure?
Because of social expectations not ability. Research shows they’re capable of being primary figures but the pressure on fathers it to return to work
Why is it difficult to draw conclusions from research into the role of the father?
Because all the research focuses on different things.
-Field and Schaffer focus on whether the father/mother is a primary attachment figure but grossman focuses on the role of the father in terms of play.
-because all researchers are not looking at the same question its hard to make any comparisons
Why is research into the role of father and caregiver interactions socially sensitive?
because it suggests that fathers arent usually the primary attachment figure which may imply that its the mother’s role to stay behind after giving birth to look after the child.
-This reinforces social expectations meaning mothers may not be given the same job opportunities due to having to take time off
