Despite the strong evidence that fathers have a crucial role in child
well-being, very little is known about the development of the
father–child relationship from prenatal to postnatal period. In this
longitudinal study, the fathers’ prenatal attachment representations (n
= 129), between 29 and 32 gestational weeks, were assessed with the
Working Model of Child Interview, and the father–child interaction was
analyzed with the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment at 4 and 18
months after the birth. The results showed that fathers’ prenatal
balanced attachment representations were associated with more positive
paternal behaviors compared to fathers with disengaged attachment
representations when the child was 4 months old, but not when the child
was 18 months old. In addition, positive changes occurred in the
interaction quality between 4 and 18 months in all three groups of
representation categories (balanced, disengaged, distorted), which
offers an optimistic view of the evolving nature of the father–child
relationship.