The role of the father

• In Schaffer and Emersons study, what % of babies attached to their father first?

  3%
• In Schaffer and Emersons study, by 18 months, what % of babies formed an attachment to their father after forming one to their mother?

  75%
• What did Grossmann et al. find in their longitudinal study of babies and later attachments?

  • They found that the quality of a babies attachment with mothers was related to their attachments in adolescence
  • They also found that the quality of fathers play with babies were related to the quality of adolescent attachments
• What do the findings from Grosmann et al's study suggest about the role of fathers in attachment?

  The findings suggest that fathers have a different role from mothers and that their role is more associated with play and stimulation rather than emotional development
• What did Field find in her study of fathers as a primary attachment figure?

  She found that fathers as a primary attachment figure we able to peform the same role as a mother as a primary attachment figure (eg. smiling, imitating and holding the baby)
• What does Field's findings suggest about fathers as being primary attachment figures?

  This suggests that fathers also have the potential to be an emotion-focused primary attachment figure rather than a stimulaton-focused one
• Why do the methods used in the research of the fathers role in attachment as as a limitation?

  • Longitudinal studies have suggested that fathers as a secondary attachment figure have a role in development (play and stimulation) - this suggests that children in families without fathers must develop differently
  • Contradicting studies such as McCallum & Golombok showed that children from families without fathers do not develop differently
• How can the research into the role of the rather be applied to real-world contexts?

  • It can be used to offer advice to parents
  • Families can be reassured that both males and females can be the primary attachment figure, and females can also fulfill the males secondary role if they live in a lone-parent or same-sex household