The role of the father

• Schaffer and Emerson found that the majority of babies first became attached to their mother at around 7 months. In only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment. 75% of the babies studied by Schaffer and Emerson formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months.
• Grossmann et al. (2002) carried out a longitudinal study where babies' attachments were studied until they were into their teens. The researcher 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. This suggests that attachment to fathers is less important than attachment to mothers.
• However, Grossmann et al. also found that the quality of fathers' play with babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that fathers have a different role than mothers - one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with emotional development.
• Fathers can be primary attachment figures:

  Field (1978) filmed 4-month-old babies and found that primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than secondary caregiver fathers. These behaviours are related to interactional synchrony and the formation of an emotional attachment.
• Level of response is important:

  Smiling, imitating and holding babies (interactional synchrony) are behaviours that are important in building a primary attachment with a baby. So it seems the father can be the more 'emotional' attachment figure. The key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent.
• AO3 - Confusion over research questions:

  Some psychologists want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures. But others are more concerned with fathers as a primary attachment figure. The former have tended to see fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role. The latter have found fathers can take on a 'maternal' role. This means psychologists cannot easily answer the simple question of 'what is the role of the father?'
• AO3 - Conflicting evidence from different methodologies:

  Grossmann et al. (2002) suggest fathers have a distinct role in children's development, involving play and stimulation. However, McCallum and Golombok (2004) found that children without a father do not develop differently. This means the question of whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered.
• AO3 - Using findings in parenting advice:


  Mothers may feel pressured to stay at home and fathers to focus on work. This may not be the best solution for all families. Research on the flexibility of the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents. This means that parental anxiety about the role of the fathers can be reduced and parenting decisions made easier.
• AO3 - Socially sensitive research:

  Research into the importance of primary attachment figures is socially sensitive, as later abnormalities are often blamed on the parent(s). This means that a single father or mother may be pressured to return to work at a later point in order to increase the likelihood that their child will form a secure attachment.