ROLE OF FATHER

• WHAT DOES EVOLUTIONARY THEORY SUGGEST?

  women make better caregivers than men due to hormonal differences
• WHY DO WOMEN HAVE HORMONAL DIFFERENCES TO MEN?

  evolved to be equipped with empathy and social support due to challenges faced by ancestors in environment of evolutionary adaptation (EEA)
• WHO FOUND THAT FATHERS WERE LESS LIKELY TO BE PRIMARY ATTACHMENT FIGURES THAN MOTHERS?

  Schaffer and Emerson
• WHAT DID SCHAFFER AND EMERSON FIND?

  fathers less likely to be primary attachment figures than mothers
• WHY MY FATHERS BE LESS LIKELY TO BE PRIMARY ATTACHMENT FIGURES THAN MOTHERS?

  spend less time with infants (breastfeeding, paid maternal leave)
• EVIDENCE AGINST SCHAFFER AND EMERSON?

  75% of infants studied had formed an attachment with father at 18 months
• WHO SUGGESTED THAT THERE IS LITTLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AMOUNT OF TIME A FATHER SPENDS WITH THEIR CHILD AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP?

  Lamb
• WHAT DID LAMB SUGGEST?

  attachment based on quality time with infant (little relationship between amount of time a father spends with their child and their relationship)
• OTHER FINDINGS OF RESEARCH?

  • father in single parent family more likely to adopt traditional maternal role
  • role of father may depend on child gender
  • recent emphasis on father sensitivity than father involvement
• STRENGTHS OF THE CLAIM THAT THE FATHER PLAYS A ROLE IN ATTACHMENT?

  • research evidence
• WEAKNESSES OF THE CLAIM THAT FATHERS PLAY A ROLE IN ATTACHMENT?

  • research evidence
  • explanations of primary attachment fail to consider same-sex parents
• RESEARCH EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT ROLE OF FATHER IN ATTACHMENT?

  Ang
• RESEARCH EVIDENCE AGAINST ROLE OF FATHER IN ATTACHMENT?

  Grossman
• RESEARCH ON EXPLANATIONS OF PRIMARY ATTACHMENT FAILING TO CONSIDER SAME-SEX PARENTS?

  Biblarz and Stacey
• WHO DID ANG STUDY?

  Asian-American boys with poor relationships with their fathers
• WHAT DID ANG DISCOVER?

  Asian-American boys with poor relationships with their fathers were more aggressive at school
• WHO DID THE CHILDREN'S PERCEPTION OF SOMEONE'S SUPPORT PREDICT THE TEACHER'S RATINGS?

  father
• WHO DID THE CHILDREN'S PERCEPTION OF SOMEONE'S SUPPORT NOT PREDICT THE TEACHER'S RATINGS?

  mother
• WHAT WERE THE TEACHER'S RATINGS ON?

  instrumental health, satisfaction, conflict
• WHAT DOES ANG'S RESEARCH SUGGEST?

  fathers do play a role in development of attachment and negative relationships have severe consequences
• WHAT DID GROSSMAN DISCOVER ABOUT DIFFERENCE IN INFLUENCE OF QUALITY OF ATTACHMENT BETWEEN FATHER AND MOTHER?

  quality of attachment with father was less influential (in adolescence) than quality of attachment with mother
• WHAT DID GROSSMAN DISCOVER ABOUT INFLUENCE OF FATHER ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS?

  father's quality of play determines quality of later relationships
• WHAT DOES GROSSMAN SUGGEST ABOUT A FATHER'S ROLE COMPARED TO A MOTHER'S?

  fathers fulfil qualitatively different role (play and stimulation s emotional support) but just as crucial to child's wellbeing
• WHAT DID BIBLARZ AND STACEY DISCOVER ABOUT SAME-SEX PARENTS?

  emotional and social development is equal in infants with gay and straight parents
• WHAT DOES BIBLARZ AND STACEY'S DISCOVERY SUGGEST?

  not sex of the parent that determines attachment but the quality of stimulation and care (no specific role of father)
• WHAT DOES RESEARCH EARLIER THAN BIBLARZ AND STACEY LACK?

  temporal validity (does not include same-sex families)