Multiple attachment

Multiple attachment

1. (Schaffer and Emerson)Infants attached to their mother first at around 7 months and then in a few weeks/ months they made secondary attachment to other family members. 75% of the infants they studies had an attachment with their father by 18 months old.

2. (Bowlby) proposed his theory of monotropy that infants form one prime attachment and all others are secondary to this and of minor importance.

3. (Rutter) proposed that all attachments were of equal importance. These multiple attachments combine together to help form a child's internal working model.

4. Role of the Father

   • Factors affecting the relationship between father and children
     • Degree of sensitivity- secure attachment when fathers show more sensitivity to children needs
     • Type of attachment with own parents- single-parent fathers tend to form similar attachments with their children that they had with their own parents
     • Marital intimacy- the degree of intimacy a father has within his relationship with his partner affects the type of attachment he will have with his children
     • Supportive co-parenting- the amount of support a father gives to his partner in helping to care for children affects the type of attachment he will have with his children
   • (Grossman) conducted a longitudinal study assessing both parents' behaviour and its relationship to the quality of their children's attachments. The quality of the infants' attachment with their mothers but not their fathers was related to the children's attachment in adolescence. This implies that the father's role is different to the mother's
   • (Field) compared the face-to-face interactions between 4 month old infants and primary care giver mother, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers. It was found that the primary caregiver father spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary caregiver fathers. This implies that the key to the attachment is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent