Attachment Figures

This article will evaluate and define attachment figures and psychological research that supports them. A central focus will be the father's role as an attachment figure. Let's first get our terminology straight.

Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that infants can form multiple attachments to siblings, grandparents, neighbours, etc., so infants can have multiple attachment figures after ten months.

Traditionally, research on infant attachment and development has focused on the role of the mother. Since then, psychologists have studied how attachment and caregiver-infant interactions differ in a father-infant relationship.

In his monotropic theory (1969), Bowlby held that infants are biologically programmed to form attachments to a 'main' attachment figure who is more important than all others, usually the biological mother. But Bowlby later acknowledged the importance of fathers as attachment figures because of their likelihood to provide play in the child-caregiver relationship.

It turns out that a child does not only need the love and security they get from their mother but also requires the challenging and exciting experiences they gain with their father.

Attachment Figures: Grossman (2002) and the Role of the Father

Grossman examined and compared the contribution of fathers and mothers to their child's attachment from infancy through adolescence. Grossman conducted a longitudinal study and examined both mother's and father's quality of play with the child at ages 6, 10, and 16.

Parents scored high when they:

• Cooperated with the child.

• Took time to understand the child's point of view.

• Explained the information so that the child could easily understand.

• Motivated the child.

• Made suggestions the child generally accepted.

Fig. 1 - Father playing. Research has shown that fathers can play a more stimulating role in child development.

The study found that attachment quality was paramount in mother-child relationships when examining the quality of the child's attachment into adolescence. This was not the case for father-child relationships. In other words, the quality of the father-child relationship was not considered necessary for the quality of the child's long-term attachment.

However, the results regarding the difference in the father's play sensitivity suggest that the father's role is merely more pronounced than the mother's, namely a more stimulating one.

MacCallum and Golombok's (2004) Study of Fatherless Families

The researchers wanted to compare the development of children from families without a father figure, such as single-parent families and same-sex families, with that children from heterosexual families with two parents. Researchers compared:

• Twenty-five families of same-sex (lesbian) couples.

• Thirty-eight single-parent families (heterosexual mothers).

• Thirty-eight two-parent families (heterosexual couples).

The researchers found that children from single-parent or same-sex families showed no major differences in social and emotional development compared with children who grew up in a family with a father. The absence of a father did not affect the children who did not have fathers in their families. The study found no major differences in parenting or child development in families with a lesbian couple or a single mother.

Field (1978) helped psychologists describe and evaluate different attachment figures by examining the role of fathers as primary caregivers compared to mothers. Field placed four-month-old babies for face-to-face interaction in front of the following:

• Primary caregiver mother.

• Primary caregiver father.

• Secondary caregiver father.

Field then filmed the interactions between the baby and the caregiver in front of the baby.

Field found that primary caregiver fathers, like primary caregiver mothers, exhibited interactions with the baby, such as smiling, physically touching, and making noises. The second caregiver fathers spent less time interacting with the baby in these ways; the second caregiver fathers spent more time playing with the baby.

Fathers who serve as primary caregivers may behave as caring and empathetic toward the infant as a mother who serves as the primary caregiver. Although such behaviours are usually associated with mothers, fathers acting as primary caregivers may also assume similar roles as mothers acting as primary caregivers.

Below are some attachment figure evaluation points for exploring the father's role as a caregiver in psychology.

Attachment Figures: Strengths

Research shows that fathers can play an important role in their children's development as primary caregivers. These findings suggest that gender roles and biological processes are not solely responsible for determining the role of parents.

There are biological explanations for why mothers are often the primary caregivers due to the female hormone oestrogen, which predisposes mothers to show high levels of nurturing.

The research also shows that although mothers and fathers have different roles, the father's stimulating role can promote children's development in the long term. The research findings can be helpful in practice, for example, in the quality of child care, social policy, work-life balance, and the gradual adjustment of cultural ideas about child-rearing.

Attachment Figures: Weaknesses

Research findings on the father's role are mixed; this makes it difficult to answer the question of the father's role as a caregiver.

MacCallum and Golombok's (2004) findings suggest that the father's role is not as important as other research suggests. This study undermines any suggestions about the role of the father. It is challenging to research the role of the father because many factors influence it, e.g., work-life balance, age, health, and attitudes toward the father's gender roles.