Determination Of Factors Affecting Father-Baby Attachment

Abstract

Introduction: The primary attachment figure is mostly defined as the mother, and studies focus on the mother. However, in many babies, basic attachment is just as good with the father as with the mother. It is seen that there are very few studies in the literature investigating the correlations of father-infant attachment relationships.. The aim of this study is to determine the father-infant attachment status and to determine the factors affecting attachment. Method: The population of the cross-sectional study consisted of the spouses of all puerperant women hospitalized in the Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic between September 1, 2018 and October 1, 2018. The sample size consisted of 156 fathers who agreed to participate in the study. Father identification form and father-infant attachment scale were used to collect the study data. The analysis of the data obtained from the research was carried out on the computer using the SPSS 16.0 package program. Results: 156 fathers participated in the study. The mean age of the fathers is 33.64±6.49, and 38.5% of them have a bachelor's degree. 91.0% of fathers stated that they felt ready for fatherhood. The fathers' Father-Infant Attachment Scale mean score was 82.60±7.72 In the analysis, the difference between the variables and the total score of the scale was found to be statistically insignificant (p>0.05). Discussion and Conclusion: At the end of the study, the bonding process of fathers participating in the study with their babies and the factors affecting this process were evaluated and it was seen that the father-infant attachment scale mean scores of the fathers participating in the study were high and were similar to other studies. In addition, when the basic factors affecting father-infant attachment were compared with the attachment scale mean score, it was found that there was no statistically significant difference.