The Development of Paternal Attitudes

Therese Benedek (1959, 1960, 1970a,b; Parens, 1975), a pioneer in the study of parenthood, emphasized a man’s role as provider and protector. From Benedek’s perspective, fatherhood is rooted in the instinct for survival, and fatherliness derives from the reproductive-drive organization. Early experiences with the mother become integrated with memory traces of the boy’s crucial early experiences with the father (Benedek, 1970a) and eventuate in a sense of and striving for “paternity.”