multiple attachments + role of father

Cards (10)

  • 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 BOTH parents 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)