Schafer and Emerson

• Schaffer and Emerson research – farthers as primary caregiver

  Schafer’s and Emerson found that majority of children form a attachment to their mothers at 7 months in the specific attachment stage . In only 3% of cases the farther was the primary caregiver. And 75% of babies formed a attachment with their farther by the age of 18 months and 27% of cases the farther was the joint first object of attachment with the mother. This suggests that the father is important but unlikely to be the first person a child develops an attachment to.
• This suggests that fathers are capable of providing a nurturing and caring role similar to mothers, challenging traditional views that mothers are inherently more nurturing. The study highlights the importance of caregiver responsiveness over gender, supporting the idea that both mothers and fathers can form strong, nurturing attachments with their children when they are actively involved.