the role of the father AO3

Question 1

evaluation of the role of the father - conflicting evidence (limitation)

Answer 1

• findings vary according to the methodology used
• longitudinal studies (grossmann et al) have suggested that fathers as secondary attachment figures have an important and distinct role in their children’s development, involving play and stimulation.
• however, if fathers have a distinctive and important role, we would expect that children growing up in single mother and lesbian parent families woud turn out in some way different from those in two-parent heterosexual families.
• studies (mccallum and golombok) consistently show that these children do not develop differently from children in two-parent heterosexual families
• this means that the question as to whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered.

Question 2

evaluation of the role of the father - conflicting evidence (COUNTERPOINT)

Answer 2

• however, these lines of research may not in fact be in conflict. it could be that fathers typically take on distinctive roles in two-parent heterosexual families but that parents in single-mother and lesbian-parent families simply adapt to accommodate the role played by fathers
• this means that the question of a distinctive role for fathers is clear after all. when present, fathers tend to adopt a distinctive role but families can adapt to not having a father

Question 3

evaluation of the role of the father - confusion over research questions (limitation)

Answer 3

• lack of clarity over the question being asked
• some researchers attempting to answer the question ‘what is the role of the father?’ actually want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures. but others are more concerned with fathers as a primary attachment figure.
• the former have tended to see fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role
• the latter have found that fathers can take on a ‘maternal role’.
• this makes it difficult to offer a simple answer as to the ‘role of the father’. it really depends what specific role is being discussed