The Role Of The Father

Question 1

Attachment to fathers

Answer 1

Schaffer and Emmerson found;
Majority of babies became attached to their mother at around 7 months
In only 3 % of cases the father was the first sole object of A
In 27 % cases the father was the joint first object of attachement with the mother
- 75 % of babies formed A with their fathers by 18 months; determined by the fact babies protested when fathers walked away

Question 2

Distinctive role for fathers

Answer 2

Grossman et al; carried out a longitudinal study where babies A studied until they were in their teens
- looked at parents beh and its relationship to the quality of babies later A to other people.
Found; quality of fathers play with babies was related to the quality of adolescent A,
- suggests that father have a different role from mothers - more to do with play and stimulation, less to do with emotional development.

Question 3

Fathers as primary attachment figures

Answer 3

• a babies relationship with their primary attachment figure forms the basis of all later close emotional relationships
• evidence suggesting that when fathers so not take on the role of primary caregiver they are able to adopt the emotional role more associated with mothers.

E.g. Tiffany Field; filmed 4 month-old babies in face to face interaction with P.C mothers, S.C fathers and P.C fathers.
The P.C fathers spent more time smiling and holding the babies than the S.C father
- fathers have the potential to be the more emotion-focused primary A figure - provide the responsiveness required for close emotional A, but only express it when given the role of P.C

Question 4

Evaluate the research into the role of fathers - strengths

Answer 4

STRENGTH:
Used to offer advice to parents; to reassure them
- for example heterosexual parents can be informed that fathers are capable of becoming primary attachment figures
- single mother / lesbian parents can be informed that not having a father doesn’t affect a child’s development
Means that parental anxiety about the role of fathers can be reduced.

Question 5

Evaluate the research into the role of fathers - limitations

Answer 5

LIMITATIONS:
Lack of clarity over the questions being asked; more complicated
- researchers have found that fathers found that fathers beh differently from mothers and having a distinct role + others found that fathers can take on the ‘maternal’ role.
- difficult to offer simple answer to the ‘role of the father’

LIMITATION:
Findings vary according to the methodology used; Grossman suggested that fathers have a distinc role as the secondary attachement role in child’s development
- therefore we would expect to see differences to the children with single-mothers.
- means that the question as to whether fathers have a distinc role remains unanswered
COUNTERPOINT:
Fathers typically take on distinct roles in two-parent heterosexual families, but in single-mother families, adapt to accommodate the role played by fathers
- fathers tend to adopt a distinctive role, but families can adapt to not having one