Introduction to Attachment: Attachment figures

Introduction to Attachment: Attachment figures

1. Parent-infant attachment

   • Multiple attachments from around 9 months onwards
     • Shaffer & Emerson found the majority of babies did become attached to their mother first

2. The role of the father

   • Grossman (2002)
     • Longitudinal study looking at both parents' behaviour & its relationship to the quality of children's attachments into their teens
       • Quality of infant attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to the children's attachments in teens = father attachment = less important
         • However, quality of father's play with infants was related to the quality of adolescent attachments
           • Suggests fathers have a different role in attachment - more to do with play and stimulation

3. Fathers as primary carers

   • Some evidence to suggest that when fathers do take on the role of main caregiver, they adopt behaviours more typical of mothers

4. Evaluation

   • Inconsistent findings on fathers
     • Psychologists have investigated different things to do with fathers and attachments
       • Psychologists can't answer a simple question: What's the role of the father?
   • Children without fathers
     • Grossman found that fathers as a secondary attachment figure had an important role in child development
       • Other studies found that children growing up in single or same-sex families don't develop any different
         • Suggests that the father's role as a secondary attachment figure isn't important
   • Gender roles - women are expected to be more caring
   • Female hormones (oestrogen) create higher levels of nurturing