A father is not necessarily the biological parent, but a male role-model in the infants life.
The role of the father has changed drastically over the past 70 years. Previously, men had nopaternityleave and were the 'breadwinners' of the family. Industrialisation and war meant that a lot of men were awayfromhome for work or serving. Nowadays, fathers are entitled to paternityleave, parental responsibility and antenatal appointments.
Research into the role of the father covers a variety of areas:
Parent-infant attachment
Different roles
Fathers as primary attachment figures
Parent-Infant Attachment
Schaffer and Emerson found that the majority of babies became attached to their mothers first (primary) at around 7 months, and a few weeks/months after they formed a secondary attachment to their father.75% of infants studied had formed an attachment to their father by 18 months. 3% of infants attached to their fathers first. 27% showed father as joint attachment.
Different Roles
Grossman carried out a longitudal study into how the quality of infant attachment affects them in their teens. They found that teenagers are most affected by the quality of attachment to their mothers, suggesting that father attachment was less important. However, the roles of mothers and fathers are equally as important but for different reasons. Fathers play is crucial for play and simulation, rather than mothers for nurturing.
Fathers as Primary Attachment Figure
Field filmed 4 month old babies in face-to-face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers and secondary caregiver fathers. They found nodifference between the standard of care between primary caregiver mothers and fathers, and that primary caregiver fathers spent moretimesmiling, imitating and holding the infant than secondary caregiver fathers.