majority of babies first became attached to their mother at around 7 months
only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment
only 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with the mother
75% of the babies formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months, determined by the fact babies protested when their father walked away
Grossmann et al. (2002)
longitudinal study where babies' attachments were studied until they were in their teens
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
What did Grossman et al (2002) study suggest?
Attachment to fathers is less important than attachment to mothers.
However, 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.
