The role of the father/attachment figures

• Fathers in attachment:

  • Fathering has not been a primary focus of attachment research, but this is changing
  • Early research placed fathers in a supportive role, assisting and emotionally supporting the mother
  • Infants seek comfort and nurturing from mothers, while they turn to fathers for play
  • Fathers are more playful, physically active, and provide challenging situations for their children
  • Fathers excite children, encourage risk-taking while ensuring safety, creating a secure environment for bravery
  • Fathers are typically seen as secondary attachment figures
  • Mothers are traditionally viewed as more sensitive to infants' signals, but this perception is evolving
• Factors leading to gender differences in attachment:

  Biological:

  • Higher testosterone in men may influence their playmate role, such as engaging in rough and tumble play
  • Higher estrogen in women is associated with more nurturing and empathetic qualities
  • Higher oxytocin levels are linked to strong attachment
  • Amygdala activation in mothers is associated with protective behaviors

  Social:

  • Fathers are more influenced by their own parenting experiences
  • Gender socialization plays a role, with girls encouraged to be nurturing and boys to be more boisterous
  • Societal expectations and traditional gender roles impact attachment dynamics
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - Social explanation:

  • Primary attachment figure is the person to whom an infant is most intensely attached, usually the mother
  • Secondary attachment figure provides additional support and emotional safety net
  • Majority of babies initially attach to their mother, forming secondary attachments to other family members, including the father
  • Fathers are more likely to be secondary attachment figures
• Why mother and father roles might differ - Biological explanation:

  • Men may lack emotional sensitivity compared to women
  • Traditional gender roles may influence attachment dynamics
  • Female hormones like estrogen may predispose women to be primary attachment figures
• Fathers as primary attachment figures - Social explanation:

  • Evidence suggests fathers can adopt nurturing behaviors typical of mothers when they take on the primary attachment role
  • The key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness, not the gender of the parent
• Importance of the father:

  • Grossman (2002) found that the quality of father-infant play was related to the quality of adolescent attachments
  • Fathers have a different role in attachment, focusing more on play and stimulation rather than nurturing
• Research into the role of fathers in attachment is confusing because researchers studying them ask different research questions
• Some researchers focus on the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures, while others are more concerned with the father as a primary attachment figure
• Researchers interested in fathers as secondary attachment figures tend to see fathers behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role
• Researchers interested in fathers as primary attachment figures tend to find that fathers can take on a 'maternal' role
• Grossman’s study found that fathers as secondary attachment figures play an important role in their child’s development
• Other studies have shown that children growing up in single-parent or same-sex parent households do not develop any differently from those in two-parent heterosexual families
• Freeman et al. (2010) found that male children are more likely to prefer their father as an attachment figure than female children
• The claim that children without fathers are no different from those with fathers suggests that the father’s role is secondary, posing ethical issues due to the social sensitivity of the research