Role of the Father

key topics

Primary Attachment

Secondary Attachment

Role of the father

Bowlby 1998

Grossman 2004

Field 1978

Responsiveness

primary attachment

most babies attach first to their mum (bonding/feeding/nurturing/maternity leave/developing)

Shaffer and Emerson (1964) found that only 3% of fathers were sole object of attachment

... 27% of cases the father was joint with the mum

the father is usually the secondary attachment figure

secondary attachment

75% of infant studies found that attachment was formed to the father by 18 months

(infants got upset when father went away)

... Schaffer and Emerson

roles of the father - play

found that father's role in attachment is associated with play

... mother and father offer different roles

... not for nurture but for fun, games and stimulation

Role of the father John Bowlby (1998)

suggested that fathers can fill a role closely resembling that filled by the mother

but...

he points out that in most cases, this is uncommon

... he argues that in most families with young children the fathers roles tends to be different

- a father is more likely to engage in physical activity and novel play than the mother and tends to be the child's preferred play companion

Role of the father Grossman (2002)

conducted a longitudinal study of 44 families comparing the role of the fathers and mothers contribution to their children's attachment experiences at the ages of 6, 10 and 16

- fathers play style was closely linked to the father's own internal working model of attachment

- play sensitivity was a better predictor of the child's long term attachment representation than the early measures of the "of attachment type" than the infant has with their father

... will result in the child's long term attachment representation and how they will attach in the future

- evidence shows that some fathers can take on the role of mothers as primary caregivers

- primary fathers vs secondary caregivers

- primary caregiver father's infants spent more time smiling and imitating than secondary father's infants

Role of the father Field (1978)

filmed 4 month old babies in their face to face interactions with their primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers and secondary caregiver fathers

- primary mothers + fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infant in comparison to secondary fathers

- this behaviour appears to be more important in building attachment with the infant

- fathers can therefore be more nurturing attachment figures

... the key to attachment is the level of responsiveness, not the gender of the parent

responsiveness

fathers can be more nurturing attachment figures, showing the gender doesn't matter

... the level of responsiveness if the most important factor

... smiling, imitating, and holding infants are the most important behaviours

Role of the Father A03 STRENGTH (gender roles)

P

It could be argued that fathers tend not to become the primary attachment figure simply because of traditional gender roles

EV

Women are expected to be the more caring, more nurturing caregiver, in comparison to men

EX

Therefore, fathers may simply not feel like they should need to act like that or fulfil that role, and may feel slightly ridiculed if they were to step into the role of the main empath due to social norms

C

On the other hand, it could also be argued that female hormones such as oestrogen create higher levels of nurturing, and therefore women are biologically pre-disposed to be the primary attachment figure.

LB

This is a strength as it confirms that such differences between mothers and fathers in the role rearing children can be down to an individual's nature but also their experiences of nurture

Role of the Father A03 WEAKNESS (unclear)

P

However, research into the role of the father in attachment can be confusing and therefore the findings are incomparable

EV

Some research focuses on the role of the father as the secondary attachment figure, such as Grossman's research into play, whilst other research is more concerned with them as the primary attachment figure, for example, Field's research into responsiveness.

EX

Research into secondary attachment fathers tends to conclude that fathers behave differently to mothers, not to primary attachment fathers, and that their different attachment styles are only split by gender. However, primary attachment research tends to find how father can successfully be the primary attachment figure as it compares the results of primary fathers to the results of secondary fathers. As a result of this, the findings cannot be compared because they both conclude different things from different areas of the research.

EXT

In addition to this, it could be argued that research into primary attachment is outdated because it does not consider same sex parents or their roles within the family dynamic that allow them to develop different attachment styles. For example, no research has been conducted into how two fathers' step into primary and secondary attachment roles, and whether these roles differ due to their individual nature and situation or are the same because of their gender.

LB

This is a problem because it means psychologists cannot easily answer the simple question about what the role of the father actually is

Role of the Father A03 WEAKNESS (socially sensitive)

P

Another weakness of research into the role of the father is that it can be viewed as a socially sensitive topic.

EV

The research suggests that infants may be experience a different role from that of the father, for example, one that offers play rather than nurture.

EX

This is an issue as it may make mothers feel like they cannot return to work as they are required to offer the caring, traditional mother role at home.

EXT

Furthermore, it could be argued that research and society is set up so that fathers are the secondary caregivers. Mothers are given up to a year off of work for maternity leave whilst fathers at only provided with 2 weeks of paternity leave, making it financially difficult for fathers to offer a primary caregiver role.

LB

This suggests that the research needs to be viewed with caution because it could potentially cause psychological harm to parents as they may feel guilty about their choices surrounding who raises the child.

Role of the Father A03 WEAKNESS (generalisable)

P

A limitation of research into the role of the father is that it is not generalisable to all cultures.

EV

For example, Hewlett found that in the Aka Pygmy people of central Africa, 47% of fathers are in reach of their infants at all times and that the male and female roles are virtually interchangeable with great flexibility as it is common for men to stay at home caring for the children whilst the women go out to hunt.

EX

This suggests that research where fathers are seen as the secondary caregiver is only bound to western cultures as gender egalitarian parenting is more common in tribal societies where both parental figures share a dual role in caregiver-infant interactions.

EXT

In addition to this, Hewlett found that for up to 20% of the day, the fathers within the Aka tribe are more likely to kiss and cuddle their children than the women. This further suggests that the stereotypical gender roles such as affection and empathy are also bound to western societies, whilst also providing evidence that men are as capable as women are at nurturing a child.

LB

Statistics like this suggest that research into the role of the father should be carefully used as is not a universal trend and may change depending on the culture and society.