Essentials when studying child-father attachment: A fundamental view on safe haven and secure base phenomena

• Published in: Attachment & human development Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 9 - 14
• Main Authors: Grossmann, Karin, Grossmann, Klaus E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Routledge 02.01.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: behavioral systems; child-father attachment; desiderata for future research on child-father attachment; save haven function; secure base function; desiderata for future research on child-father attachment; behavioral systems; child-father attachment; save haven function; secure base function
• ISSN: 1461-6734; 1469-2988
• DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2019.1589056

The most relevant functions of an attachment figure for a child from evolutionary, cultural, and individual perspectives are being a safe haven and secure base for the child. The concepts of behavioral systems and emotional security are delineated. Central to a child's emotional security is her smooth transition between seeking a safe haven when distressed and a secure base when at ease with her attachment figures. The special quality of the child-father attachment relationship is marked by an emphasis on supporting the child's exploration and her emotional intensity during agitated play. Systematic analysis of child-father attachment requires careful, realistic, and lengthy natural, ethological observations of behaviors that indicate the child's attachment to father. Such observations would result in a fuller understanding of the infants' or children's contribution to their development of psychological security.