AO1 – The father IS as important, as PRIMARY

• • Research has shown that fathers can take the role of primary caregiver. Field observed that PCG fathers can show a high level of responsiveness and care; smiling, imitating and holding more than SCG fathers. Therefore, fathers are not necessarily different, it just depends on who is the most responsive parent in the family. ​
• • Men do form secure attachments with their children (e.g.: single male parents). Research has found that in two-parent families where the father is the primary caregiver, both parents often share the role of primary attachment figure (Frank et al., 1997). Research has found no differences in the physiological/brain responses of men and women to infants crying. ​
• • So, men can be primary attachment figures, but biological and social factors may discourage this. There are cultural/social expectations that view child rearing as stereotypically feminine. This may deter males taking on a childrearing role, even if they want to.