"It's Just the Love and the Care, That's What Makes Things Work": Fathers With Learning Disabilities' Experiences of the Attachment Relationship With Their Children.

Background: People with learning disabilities may be at a higher risk of attachment difficulties than the general population. Fathers are underrepresented in the literature on parents with learning disabilities. This study aimed to gather an in‐depth understanding of fathers with learning disabiliti...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:British Journal of Learning Disabilities Vol. 53; no. 4; pp. 530 - 540
Autores principales: Wilmots, Eva, Theodore, Kate
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Dec2025
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=189569284&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 189569284
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        13544187
        F04
      jtl: British Journal of Learning Disabilities
      issn: 13544187
      maglogo: Y
    pubinfo:
      dt: Dec2025
      vid: 53
      iid: 4
      pid: 480
      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
      place: Malden, Massachusetts
    artinfo:
      ui:
        189569284
        187110902
        189569284
        189569284
        10.1111/bld.70002
        189569284
      ppf: 530
      ppct: 10
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
      tig:
        atl: "It's Just the Love and the Care, That's What Makes Things Work": Fathers With Learning Disabilities' Experiences of the Attachment Relationship With Their Children.
      aug:
        au:
          Wilmots, Eva
          Theodore, Kate
        affil: Department of Clinical Psychology, Royal Holloway University, Egham Surrey, , UK
      sug:
        subj:
          Fathers Psychosocial Factors
          Father-Child Relations Evaluation
          Attachment Behavior Evaluation
          Children of Impaired Parents Psychosocial Factors
          Parental Attitudes Evaluation
          Learning Disorders
          Human
          Male
          Adult
          Middle Age
          Descriptive Statistics
          Self-Advocacy
          Phenomenological Research
          Semi-Structured Interview
          Parenting
          Audiorecording
          Purposive Sample
          Thematic Analysis
          Qualitative Studies
          Cross Sectional Studies
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Male
      ab: Background: People with learning disabilities may be at a higher risk of attachment difficulties than the general population. Fathers are underrepresented in the literature on parents with learning disabilities. This study aimed to gather an in‐depth understanding of fathers with learning disabilities' perceptions of developing an attachment with their children. Methods: Eleven fathers who self‐identified as having a learning disability were recruited via self‐advocacy groups across the United Kingdom and their experiences were explored through semi‐structured interviews. Findings: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis produced three key themes: (1) "It's just the love...and the care, that's what makes things work"; (2) "Time is, it is precious"; (3) Challenges to and benefits from the father‐child relationship. Conclusions: Fathers described behaviours mirroring attachment theory, with the findings suggesting a need for early inclusion of fathers in childcare to facilitate a secure father‐child relationship. The results reveal the need for more research on attachment styles in fathers with learning disabilities to help develop better attachment‐focused interventions tailored to them. Highlights: We know little about the experiences of dads with learning disabilities.This paper shares the voices of 11 dads with learning disabilities, and what it was like for them to build bonds with their children.The dads talked about what helped them to build a good bond with their children, like play, physical touch, caring for their children, and spending one‐to‐one time together. They also shared challenges of being a dad.We give some recommendations on how services can better support dads to build good relationships with their children.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N