The role of the father

• primary attachment usually with mothers but sometimes fathers too


  Schaffer and Emerson found the majority of babies attach to their mothers first (usually around 7 months). In only 3% of cases the father was the first object of attachment. In 27% of cases the father was the joint first attachment with the mother.
• infants eventually form attachments with their father


  75% of infants studied form a secondary attachment with their father by 18 months - indicated by separation anxiety
• attachment with mother most related to teen attachments


  Grossman carried out a longitudinal study that looked at parents' behaviour and its effect on the quality of children's attachments into their teens. Research found that the quality of attachment with the father was less important to teenagers than that with the mother. Could be said fathers may be less important in long-term emotional development
• fathers' play is more important 


  the quality of fathers' play often relates to the children's attachments. suggests that fathers have a different role, one that is more to do with play and stimulation rather than nurturing
• fathers can be primary caregivers too


  some research suggests than when taking on the role of primary caregiver, fathers take on behaviours more typical of mothers. Field filmed 4 month old babies and found the primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling and holding infants than secondary caregiver fathers.
• level of response from caregiver is most important


  smiling, imitating, and holding infants are behaviours that appear to be important in building an attachment with an infant. father can be the more nurturing attachment figure. the key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the caregiver
• limitation of the role of the father - research fails to provide clear answers about fathers and primary attachments


  the answer could be related to traditional gender roles (women more nurturing than men). therefore, fathers simply don't feel they should act in a nurturing way. or could be that female hormones create higher levels of nurturing and therefore women are more biologically predisposed to be primary attachment figures.
• strength of the role of the father - has important economic implications


  mothers often feel pressured to stay at home due to research that says mothers are vital for good development - in some families this may not be the best economical solution, for them or for society in general. research into the role of the father may be of comfort to the mothers who need to make economical decisions like going back to work.
• limitation of the role of the father - social biases prevent objective observation


  preconceptions about how fathers behave are created by common discussion about mothers' and fathers' parenting behaviour. these stereotypes may cause unintentional observer bias. so, conclusions on the role of the father are hard to disentangle from the social biases about their role
• A limitation of the role of the father is researchers are interested in different research questions. 


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