The aim of this article is to propose a theorization of the father-child relationship based on our current understanding of attachment, interactions between fathers and their young children, and human-specific adaptations. The comparison of mother-child and father-child interactions suggests that fathers play a particularly important role in the development of children’s openness to the world. Men seem to have a tendency to excite, surprise, and momentarily destabilize children; they also tend to encourage children to take risks, while at the same time ensuring the latter’s safety and security, thus permitting children to learn to be braver in unfamiliar situations, as well as to stand up for themselves. But this dynamic can only be effective in the context of an emotional bond between father and child; this relationship is termed the father-child activation relationship, in contrast to the mother-child attachment relationship aimed at calming and comforting children in times of stress. The activation relationship is developed primarily through physical play. It is postulated, in particular, that father-child rough-and-tumble play encourages obedience and the development of competition skills in children.

Cette étude démontre que les cinq échelles de maltraitance des versions longue et courte du CTQ sont valides et utilisables avec la population francophone. Elle montre aussi que la négligence émotionnelle est la forme de maltraitance la plus fréquente dans notre échantillon de la population générale, alors que la négligence physique est celle qui est la moins fréquente. Les prévalences d’abus physique, d’abus émotionnel et d’abus sexuel de notre échantillon de convenance correspondent grosso modo aux taux généralement obtenus auprès d’échantillons non cliniques. Enfin, les femmes présentent une plus forte co-occurrence des différentes formes de maltraitance que les hommes, impliquant tout particulièrement l’abus sexuel.

Initial validation data are presented for the Risky Situation (RS), a 20‐minute observational procedure designed to assess the father–child activation relationship with children aged 12–18 months. The coding grid, which is simple and easy to use, allows parent–child dyads to be classified into three categories and provides an activation score. By having the same parent–child dyads participate in the Strange Situation (SS) and in the RS, researchers were able to demonstrate that the RS appears to evoke specific relationship patterns. Moreover, parental stimulation of risk‐taking, the central construct of the RS, was shown to play a significant role after controlling for child characteristics (sex and temperament). These results suggested that the RS has the potential to make a significant contribution to the study of the human relationship.

The broad aim of this study on father–child attachment was to verify whether the Risky Situation (RS) procedure is a more valid means than the Strange Situation (SS) procedure of predicting children's socio-emotional development, and to evaluate the moderator effect of day-to-day involvement on attachment and activation. Participants were 53 father–child dyads. The RS and the SS were conducted when children were 12–18 months old to measure attachment and activation, and a questionnaire on fathering was administered at the same time. Childcare workers rated children's socio-emotional development at 30–36 months. Regression analyses revealed that the RS predicted children's socio-emotional development, while the SS did not, even when controlling for paternal involvement. This study advances the field by empirically testing the predictive relationships from attachment and activation to social emotional outcomes, and the moderator effect of fathering. The results underscore the value of the activation relationship theory and the RS procedure as a means for comprehending and capturing the essence of father–child attachment.