Role of The Father

• Schaffer and Emerson-attachment

  • 3% of cases father was sole attachment
  • 27% had a joint first attachment
  • 75% formed an attachment with father by 18 months
  • Father's are less likely to be first attachment
• Grossman-adolescence

  • quality of attachment with mothers affected adolescent attachment
  • BUT father's quality of play affected their adolescent attachment too
  • shows father's have an important but different role
• Field- father as primary attachment

  • 4 month old babies with primary mothers, primary fathers and secondary fathers
  • smiling, imitation and holding babies- primary mothers and fathers spent more time than secondary fathers
  • shows fathers CAN be primary attachment figures just like mothers
• one limitation is different researchers asking different questions so studies cannot be compared so easily.
• this research is deterministic as it is saying mothers have an innate role to nurture that fathers don't have- its biological.
• this research is also socially sensitive as it may leave single fathers feeling inadequate as they don't have the "most important" caregiver,