Role of the father

• Fathers


  • Less likely to be primary attachment figures
  • May not be physiologically equipped, women have oestrogen, which gives more caring behaviour, so more care orientated
  • Can form as primary attachment figure in cases of single parents
  • Can share the role of primary attachment figure in two-parent families
• Father accessibility time


  May be the reason for the less likely chance of being primary attachment figure
• Fathers as secondary attachment figures


  • More playful, physically active, better at providing challenging situations for child
• Fathers have an important role as secondary attachment figures
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - found that the majority of babies did become attached to their mother first (around 7 months) - within a few weeks or months formed secondary attachments to other family members, including the father - In 75% of the infants studied an attachment was formed the father by 18 months. This was determined by the fact that the infants protested when their father walked away - a sign of attachment
• Grossman (2002) - Longitudinal study looking at both parents’ behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children’s attachments into their teens. - Quality of infant attachment with mothers, but not fathers, was related to children’s attachment in adolescence, suggesting that father attachment was less important. - The quality of fathers' play with infants, however, was related to the quality of adolescent attachments
• Tiffany Field (1978) - filmed 4-month-old babies in face-to-face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers. - Primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary caregiver fathers. . - Fathers can be the more nurturing attachment figure and the key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness, not the gender of the parent.