The view that fathers are reluctant caregivers may be a thing of
the past,New findings show that hormonal changes of parenting are not
limited to mothers. The reason we haven't discovered the hormonal changes
in human fathers before now lies in a combination of scientific progress
and cultural change.
Early studies on rats found that males could learn to become
involved fathers after prolonged exposure to their pups but did not
experience any hormonal changes. The fact that these reluctant dads could
learn to nurture led to the so-called bonding hypothesis. It claimed that
fathers, including human fathers, could learn to become competent
caregivers.
But changes in mothers' work roles have forced a redefinition of
fathers' nurturing roles. When I began studying families in the
mid-1970s, half the fathers had never changed a diaper. Now, most dads do
diaper duty. A father's role is increasingly multifaceted. He is,
ideally, a breadwinner, a coach, a moral guide, a source of love and
inspiration.
Here's the shocking news: In 90 percent of birds and the majority
of fish, fathers care for the young. Mammals are the only major group of
vertebrates in which mothers are more involved. Among mammals, 90 percent
of fathers take off after conception or birth. But the offspring usually
are either self-sufficient from the start or can survive with the sole
care of the mother,
So why should human dads stick around and burp a baby? It turns out
there's a big evolutionary advantage for the kids who get coddled.
Father care seems to boost the chances of survival significantly
for human babies. Born helpless and dependent, babies demand an enormous
amount of care. Having two parents to provide food and protection
increases the odds an infant will function well and make it to
adulthood.
Most children today survive physically whether or not they have an
involved father. But this may not have always been the case. In
hunter-gatherer cultures the presence of a father counted heavily.
Even in advanced industrial societies, where food and physical
survival are rarely the issue, social survival still is. Children who
grow up without their fathers are at greater risk for everything from
school failure to teen suicide (see "The Daddy Dividend," page
40).
So why, if fathers have a hormonal connection to their children,
aren't all fathers more involved dads? "There are cultural scripts that
have precluded fathers from being involved," observes Jay Belsky, Ph.D.,
a psychologist at the University of London. "A generation ago fathers
weren't allowed into birthing rooms and didn't change diapers. When
social norms work against father involvement, hormones may have less of
an effect on their actual behavior." Men have moderate to high contact
with infants in only 40 percent of cultures, according to an
international survey.
In other words, humans aren't held in hormonal thrall--research
suggests that hormones simply facilitate a transition into fatherhood.
The definition of that fatherhood will no doubt depend on culture.
Michael Lamb, Ph.D., is at the National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development.
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