ABSTRACT

Attachment Parenting is a modern-day parenting philosophy that has become popular in Western countries. It aims to promote healthy psycho-emotional development of children by encouraging maximal emotional and physical contact, especially between the mother and the child, through practices such as long-term breastfeeding and co-sleeping. The iteration of intensive mothering ideals and gender stereotypes within Attachment Parenting philosophy are discussed and investigated in Greece, a country characterized by traditional values regarding gender roles. Specifically, the aim of the study was to explore in depth the parental experience of Greek mothers and fathers who adhere to the Attachment Parenting (AP) practices, and the possible effects of this parenting philosophy on them and their family’s dynamics. The sample consisted of ten Greek heterosexual couples who parent their children according to AP. The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed three main themes: (1) mothers as absolutely dedicated caregivers, (2) mothers as the ‘parenting leaders’, (3) overwhelmed mothers and isolated fathers. The discussion focuses on the family dynamics that are characterized by mothers’ over-involvement in child-rearing, fathers’ under-involvement, and a distant relationship between the couple.

摘要

依恋育儿法是一种在西方国家流行的现代育儿理念。它旨在通过鼓励最大程度的情感和身体接触，特别是母亲和孩子之间的接触，通过长期母乳喂养和共同睡眠等做法，促进儿童健康的心理情感发展。在希腊这个以性别角色传统价值观为特征的国家，对依恋育儿哲学中强化母爱理想和性别刻板印象的迭代进行了讨论和研究。具体来说，该研究的目的是深入探讨坚持依恋育儿（AP）做法的希腊父母的育儿经历，以及这种育儿理念对他们及其家庭动态的可能影响。据美联社报道，样本由十对养育孩子的希腊异性恋夫妇组成。半结构化访谈的解释性现象学分析揭示了三个主题：（1）母亲是绝对奉献的照顾者，（2）母亲是“育儿领袖”，（3）不堪重负的母亲和孤立的父亲。讨论的重点是家庭动态，其特点是母亲过度参与抚养孩子，父亲参与不足以及夫妻之间的关系疏远。