Role Of The Father

Question 1

What did Schaffer and Emerson found in attachment to fathers?

Answer 1

Majority of babies become attached to their mother and only in 3% of these cases was the father the sole object of attachment. In 27% of cases the father was the first joint attachment figure with the mother

Question 2

What did Grossman et al discover?

Answer 2

• Longitudinal study where babies attachment studied into their teens. Researchers looked at both parents behaviour and its relationship to the quality of their baby’s later attachments to other people. Quality of babies attachments with mothers and not father was related to attachments in adolescence. Attachment to fathers less important.
• Quality of fathers play with a babies was also related to quality of adolescence attachments, father have different role to mothers

Question 3

What happens when fathers become primary caregivers?

Answer 3

They tend to adopt the emotion role associated with mother, nurturing.

Question 4

What did Field discover?

Answer 4

Field filmed 4 month old babies interacting with primary caregiver mothers/fathers, secondary caregiver fathers. Primary caregiver fathers like mother spend more time smiling, imitating and holding babies over secondary caregiver. This is part of reciprocity and interactional synchrony. Fathers have potential to be emotion- focused may only express this when primary caregiver.

Question 5

Evaluation of role of the father (brief)

Answer 5

• Research evidence supporting father as the playmate (Geiger 1996)
• Research evidence suggesting father aren’t equipped to provide nurturing attachment (Hrdy 1999)
• Research when in intimate marriage fathers can form secure attachments with infants (Belsky et al 2009)

Question 6

Evaluation role of the father (Detailed)

Answer 6

TBC