Role Of The Father (Attachment) Flashcards
(20 cards)
Are fathers more or less likely to be the babies first primary attachment figure
Fathers are less likely to become the babies first attachment
What percentage of cases was the father the first sole object of attachment
3%
What percentage of cases was the father the joint first object of attatchement
27%
What age do babies form attachment with their fathers
75% of babies formed attachment to the father by 18 months
Shown by baby protesting when father walked away
What did Paquette say about the role of the father
Fathers are more likely to foster risk taking behaviour - physical play and enjoyable games
What did Geiger say about role of fathers
Fathers play interactions are more exciting and pleasurable than mothers who were more nursing + affectionate
Playmates rather than caregivers
What did Lamb say about role of fathers
Fathers are preferred when children are in positive emotional state and want stimulation
- Mothers are preferred when child is distressed and seeking comfort
What did Hardy say about distress
Fathers are less able than mothers to detect low levels of distress in infant
What was Grossman’s study
- Longitudinal study: studied babies until they were teens.
- Looked at parent’s behaviour in relation to the quality of babies later attachments to other people.
What did Grossman find
- Quality of attachment to mother was related to attachments in adolescence (teen), unlike fathers.
—> Suggesting that attachment to father’s is less important than to mothers. - Quality of father’s play was related to quality of adolescent attachments.
—> Suggesting that father’s and mother’s have different roles. (Fathers = play and stimulation, Mothers = Emotional development)
What did Lamb say about Childs development
The characteristics of individual fathers e.g masculinity are much less important than the quality of the relationship
Children who have secured supportive, reciprocal relationships do better on every measure of child development
What study did Field do (fathers as primary caregivers)
Filmed 4 month old face to face interactive with :
- Primary caregiver mother, secondary caregiver fathers, and primary caregiver fathers
What was the findings of Fields study
Primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infant than secondary caregiver fathers
What does Fields findings suggest
Fathers are just as capable as mother of being sensitive and the primary caregiver if given the chance
Level of responsiveness not gender of parent is key to attachment
Traditional gender roles in society can influence fathers opportunities
What did Peterson find in relation to child development
The more actively involved a 6 month old baby had been with their father - the higher the baby scored on infant development scales
-shows that father attachment is still important
What does Grossman’s findings suggest
Key differences in the role and capabilities of Mothers and fathers
Fathers are not less capable jus have less opportunity to develop these skills
What are the laws on maternity leave
As of 2015, fathers and mothers can share the maternity leave - improves economic potential of families
Paternity leave - fathers get 2 weeks off as a cost to employer
What do these maternity laws mean
Families can choose who stays at home with baby does not automatically need to be mother
Can base It on who is the higher earner
What are the strengths of the role of the father?
+ Research into the role of the father can be used to offer parental advice
—> Parents/prospective parents sometimes agonise over decisions like who should be the primary caregiver
—> Mothers feel pressured to stay home, fathers feel pressured to be the main provider from stereotypes (even if this might not be economically the best solution)
—> Research can offer reassurance that for heterosexual parents: fathers are capable of being the primary attachment figures, and for lesbian parents and single mothers: not having a father around doesn’t affect a child’s development.
Therefore, parental anxiety about the role of the fathers can be reduced.
What are the weaknesses of the role of the father?
- Lack of clarity over the question being asked
—> Some researchers want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures as they see fathers as behaving differently to mothers and having a distinct role.
—> Other researchers are concerned with fathers as a primary attachment figure and have found that fathers can take on a maternal role.
This means it is difficult to offer a simple answer to the role of the father and it depends on what specific role is being discussed. - Findings vary according to the methodology used
—> Longitudinal studies (Grossmann et al) suggested fathers as secondary attachment figures have a distinct role in children’s development involving play.
—> However, if fathers had a distinct role, children growing up in single-mothers families and lesbian-parent families would turn out somehow different than the children in two-parent heterosexual families
—> McCallum and Golombok consistently show that these children do not develop differently from those in two-parent heterosexual families.
The question whether fathers have a distinct role remains unanswered
^COUNTERPOINT
+ The research may not be in conflict as fathers may take on distinctive roles in two-parent heterosexual families, but parents in single mothers and lesbian-parent families simple adapt to accommodate the role played by fathers. This means that fathers do have a distinct role, but families can adapt to not having a father.
