Role of father

• Schaffer & Emerson

  Fathers less likely to be PAF as they spend less time with their child
• May be that female oestrogen hormone makes women more physiologically equipped to form attachments
• May also be due to cultural expectations of women being the more caring sex, and it being seen as feminine for a man to care for children (stereotypes affecting male behaviour)
• Geiger 1996

  Fathers have more of a role as an exciting playmate and a 

  provider of challenging situations to overcome, whereas mothers are more conventional and caring
• Lamb (1997)

  studies have shown little relationship between father accessibility and infant attachment
• Heermann et al (1994)

  evidence of men being less sensitive to infant cues
• Frodi et al (1978)

  no different of physiological reactions in men and women when shown videotapes of crying infants
• Men do form secure attachments with their children, found commonly in most single father households
• Frank et al (1997)

  in families where father is primary caregiver, both caregivers still end up sharing role of PAF