Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that by the time the infants were 18 months they had already formed multiple attachments
Multiple attachments are whereby an infant forms several, different attachments with a range of people, usually a family member
Grossman 2002
Conducted a longitudinal study looking at how the quality of relationships between parents and children changed from infancy to the teenage years
It was found that the early attachment to the mother was a better predictor of what the teenage relationship was like
It seems the father is less important to later development than the mother in terms of nurture
Multiple attachments = Formation of emotional bonds with more than one carer
The Role of the father
From Schaffer and Emerson, the most common second attachment formed was with the father
This was the case in 27% of the initial sample and at 18 months 75% had formed an attachment with their father
The role of fathers has significantly developed since then and many men are more hands-on with their children than in the 1960s
Research into role of the father
Geiger (1996)
Found that fathers had a different role from the mother
The mum is associated with care and nurturing the child
The dad is more about fun and playing with the child
From this, we get the idea of the father's role being 'the fun dad'
Grossman (2002)
Conducted a longitudinal study looking at how the quality of relationships between parents and children changed from infancy to the teenage years
It was found that the early attachment to the mother was a better predictor of what the teenage relationship was like
It seems the father is less important to later development than the mother in terms of nurture
However, Grossman found that if the father had engaged in active play with the child when they were young, the adolescent relationship with BOTHparents is strengthened
This supports Geiger's work
Field (1978)
However, Field found that if the father was the main PCG from before attachment began (before 6 months) then they took on more of a maternal role
They were seen to be more nurturing and caring than the traditional father role
This demonstrates that there is flexibility in the role of the father and how men can respond to the different needs of their children
Strengths of ROTF
Bowlby argued that mothers are crucial, fathers are only important for an economic function
Socialisation and hormones might support this, Schaffer and Emerson found that only 3% of babies had the father as the first attachment
Limitations of ROTF
Biased sample that lacks ecological and temporal validity
Many more women go to work nowadays and stay at home fathers are increasingly popular (quadrupled over the past 25 years Cohn et al 2014)