The role of the father

Question 1

what are the factors affecting the relationship between the fathers and their children?

Answer 1

degree of sensitivity
types of attachments with own parents
marital intimacy
supportive co-parenting

Question 2

what is degree of sensitivity?

Answer 2

more secure attachments to their children are found in fathers who show more sensitivity to their children’s needs

Question 3

what is types of attachments with own parents?

Answer 3

single parent fathers tend to form similar attachments wiith their children that they had with their own parents

Question 4

what is maritial intimacy?

Answer 4

the degree of intimacy a father has within his relationship with his partner affects the type of attachments he will havwe with his children

Question 5

what is supportive co-parenting?

Answer 5

the amount of support a father gives his partner in helping to care for children affacets the type of attachment he will have with the children

Question 6

what is the research for degree of sensitivity?

Answer 6

geiger (1986)

• fathers play is more exiting than mothers
• mothers are seen as more able to show sensitive responsiveness whereas fathers were seen as playmates

Question 7

what is the research for types of attachments with own parents?

Answer 7

bernier and milijokovitch (2009)

• found single - parent fathers attachments with children ages 4-6 was similar to the attachments the father had with his own parents.
• this was not found in married males

Question 8

what is the research for maritial intimacy?

Answer 8

Belskey et al (2009)
found high levels of maritial intimacy was related to secure father-infant attachments and low maritial intimacy was related to insecure father-infant attachments
supports the idea that closenessness of relationship with partners affects the relationship a father has with child

Question 9

what is the research for supporting co-parenting?

Answer 9

brown et al (2010) assessed attachment patterns in 68 families with infants aged 12-13 months found that high levels of supportive co parenting were related to secure attachment types between infants and fathers

Question 10

why are fathers important?

Answer 10

• children with secure attachments to fathers go on to have better relationships with peers
• children who grow up without fathers have been seen to do less well at school
• fathers are important not just for children but for mothers too.