3. The Role of the Father

• 1. The Role of the Father - Schaffer + Emerson

  Schaffer + Emerson (1964) - study into stages of attachment contributes towards role of father.

  • 65%, attached to mother first.
  • 27%, father joint first w/ mother.
  • 3%, father sole object of attachment.
  • 75%, formed attachment w/ father by 18 months.
• 2. The Role of the Father - Grossmann

  Grossmann et al. (2002):

  • Longitudinal study; infants until teens.
  • Quality of attachment w/ mother based on attachment in adolescence.
  • Quality of father’s play related to quality of adolescent attachment.
  • Father = stimulation/play.
  • Mother = emotional development.
• 3. The Role of the Father - Primary/Secondary Attachments

  Field (1978)- filmed 4-month-old babies; face-to-face interactions with…

  • Primary caregiver mothers.
  • Primary caregiver fathers.
  • Secondary caregiver fathers.

  Primary fathers (like mothers), more time imitating than secondary; potential to be emotionally focused.

  Reciprocity + synchrony!!!
• 4. The Role of the Father - Real-Life Application

  Ian Mucklejohn:

  • 2001, first single, heterosexual man to have children by surrogacy.
• The Role of the Father (Evaluation)

  Limitation:

  P - lack clarity over question of ‘role of father’.

  E - some researchers want understand father as secondary attachment figure; differing behaviours to mother + distinctive role.

  E - others want understand father as primary attachment figure; maternal role.

  L - cannot offer simple answer to role of father; needs specificity.
• The Role of the Father (Evaluation)

  Limitation:

  P - findings vary according to methodology.

  E - longitudinal studies like Grossmann et al. (2002), fathers as secondary attachment figure (stimulation and play).

  E - if fathers have important role, suggests children in single-mother/lesbian families are ’different’.

  L - studies suggests these children don’t develop differently; question as to whether fathers have distinct role unanswered.
• The Role of the Father (Evaluation)

  Strength:

  P - fathers may have distinctive role in 2-parent, heterosexual families.

  E - parents in single/lesbian families adapt to accommodate role of father.

  L - when present, fathers have distinctive role, but w/o one, they adapt.
• The Role of the Father (Evaluation)

  Strength:

  P - findings advice to parents; real-life/practical application.

  E - mothers pressured into staying home/fathers pressured into work due to stereotypes.

  E - e.g. heterosexual parents informed fathers capable becoming primary attachment figure.

  L - parental anxiety about fathers reduced.