Abstract
The developmental aspects of the process of becoming, particularly in the case of fathers, represent a relatively underexplored area withing psychological research. Researchers have devoted much more effort to understanding the influence of parents on a child's development than the impact of the child on the parents'development. Despite being a neglected field, there are several different streams of research that address this topic, such as the socio-cognitive or psychoanalytic approach. The developmental aspects of the transition to fatherhood represent an even narrower topic, therefore, receive even less attention. This contribution presents selected significant theories of the transition to fatherhood among psychoanalytically oriented authors, as their work contains the most references to the dynamics and developmental aspects of the transition to fatherhood. Gradually, the theory of parenthood as a developmental phase by Theresa Benedek, Erik Erikson's concept of generativity, and the works of Selma Fraiberg, Daniel Stern, and
Massimo Ammaniti, who focused on the influence of early experiences on the formation of the parent-child relationship, will be presented. Subsequently, authors who have directly explored the intrapsychic dynamics of the transition to fatherhood, bringing early themes such as rivalry, envy or dependency needs, will be introduced.