the role of the father

attachment to fathers

fathers less likely to become infant’s first attachment figure compared to mothers.

Schaffer and Emerson (1964) → the majority of babies first became attached to their mother at around 7 months. In only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment. In 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with the mother.

but, it appears that most fathers go on to become important attachment figures. 75% of the babies studied by Schaffer and Emerson formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months. This was determined by the fact that the babies protested when their father walked away - a sign of attachment.

distinctive role for fathers

Grossmann et al. (2002) carried out a longitudinal study where infants' attachments were studied until they were into their teens. the researchers looked at 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. This suggests that attachment to fathers is less important than attachment to mothers.

but, Grossmann et al. also found that the quality of fathers' play with babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that fathers have a different role from mothers - one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with emotional development.

father as primary attachment figure

the first specific attachment is described as a primary attachment and later attachments (in stage 4) as secondary attachments. an infant’s primary attachment has special emotional significance. an infant's relationship with their primary attachment figure forms the basis of all later close emotional relationships.

when fathers take on the role of primary caregiver they’re able to adopt the emotional role more typically associated with mothers. e.g. Field (1978) filmed 4-mth-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 than the secondary caregiver fathers. Smiling, imitating and holding babies are all part of reciprocity and interactional synchrony which are part of the process of attachment formation.

fathers have the potential to be the more emotion-focused primary attachment figure - they can provide the responsiveness required for a close emotional attachment but perhaps only express this when given the role of primary caregiver.

AO3 - limitations of the role of the father

conflicting evidence:
findings vary according to the methodology used. 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. but, if fathers have a distinctive and important role we’d 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. studies (e.g. McCallum and Golombok 2004) consistently show that these children don’t develop differently from children in two-parent heterosexual families. This means that the question as to whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered.
COUNTER: These lines of research may not 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.

lack of clarity over the Q being asked:
the Q, 'what is the role of the father?' in the context of attachment is complex. some researchers aim to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures (like Grossman et al.). but others are more concerned with fathers as a primary attachment figure (like Field et al.). 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 depends what specific role is being discussed.

AO3 - strength of the role of the father: real-world application

parents and prospective parents sometimes agonise over decisions like who should take on the primary caregiver role. for some this can even mean worrying about whether to have children at all. Mothers may feel pressured to stay at home cuz of stereotypical views of mothers' and fathers' roles.

fathers may be pressured to focus on work rather than parenting. In some families this may not be economically the best solution. Research into the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents. e.g. 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 doesn’t affect a child's development.

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