Noting that researchers, practitioners, and families are increasingly interested in the roles fathers play in raising their children, this doctoral research paper reviews the interpersonal and external factors involved in attachment development between fathers and their children. Methodological considerations include pertinent definitions, instruments, sampling procedures, and experimental design. Among the several methodological limitations of available studies are the sample size and selection factors. Factors shown to contribute to a secure attachment development in children are the attachment security of the father, the father's view of parenting and the infant, and the father's report on the quality of the marriage. Implications of the findings include fathers' need to understand the parenting of their own childhood and its influence on how they relate to their own children, and the option of developing clinical treatment plans focusing on building secure attachment. Research needs include the necessity of developing a standardized set of self-report measures and observations for studying attachment, and studying attachment in a wider variety of cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic groups. (Contains 33 references.) (KB)