Can joint custody inhibit an infant’s attachment to his or her parents?
According to a new study from researchers at the University of Virginia, infants who spent at least one night a week apart from their mothers formed less secure attachments to them, compared to babies who had fewer overnights away from home or stayed with their father only during the day.
The researchers looked at data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national longitudinal study of about 5,000 children born in large U.S. cities from 1998 to 2000. The data consisted of interviews with the children’s parents at the time of birth and at ages 1 and 3.