The role of the father

Attachment to fathers

- Available evidence suggests that fathers are much less likely to become babies' first attachment figure compared to mothers

- Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that the majority of babies first become attached to their mother at around 7 months. In only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment, 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 important attachment figures. 75% of babies formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months

Distinctive role for fathers

- There is an additional research question that involves whether attachment to fathers holds some specific value in a child's development and if it plays a different role from attachment to the mother

- Grossmann et al (2002) carried out a longitudinal study where babies' attachments were studied until they were into their teens. They looked into both parents' behaviour and its relationship to the quality of their baby's later attachments to other people. Quality of a baby's attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to attachments in adolescence, suggesting that attachment to fathers is less important than attachment to mothers. It is said that the fathers have a different role from the mothers - more to do with play and simulation, and less to do with emotional development

• Found quality of play effected quality of latter attachments.

Fathers as primary attachment figures

- 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 interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers, and primary caregiver fathers. Primary caregiver fathers, like primary caregiver mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating, and holding babies are all part of reciprocity and interactional synchrony which are part of the process of attachment formation

- It seems that fathers have the potential to be the more emotion-focused primary attachment figure

Evaluation- Weaknesses (1)

- There is a 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.

- 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

Evaluation- Weaknesses (2)

- Findings vary according to the methodology used. Longitudinal studies such as that of Grossmann et al have suggested that fathers as secondary attachment figures have an important and distinct role in their children's developments, 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 would turn out in some way different from those in two-parent heterosexual families which as been disproven.

- This means that the question as to whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered

Adapt to accomodate? fathers still have role.

Evaluation- Strengths 1

- Research into the role of the father can be used to offer advice to parents. For example, heterosexual parents can be informed that fathers are quite capable of becoming primary attachment figures. Also lesbian-parent and single-mother families can be informed that not having a father around does not affect a child's development

- This means that parental anxiety about the role of fathers can be reduced

Strength 2

RWA - economy

Harmful to some