A healthy parent-child relationship is critical to an infant's psychological development. It gives her the security she needs to explore her environment, teaches her to trust others and helps her learn to control her emotions. Unfortunately, when a separation -- caused by a divorce, parent being jailed or baby being placed in foster care -- disrupts this central relationship, it may produce a number of negative emotional effects in the infant.
Attachment
To develop a healthy attachment, an infant needs regular care from his primary caregiver in a stable, safe environment where his caregiver responds quickly and sensitively to his needs. If an infant is separated from his primary caregiver, it can interfere with the development of this secure attachment. Primary care lawyer Elizabeth J. Kates reports that 60 percent of infants 18 months and younger with alternating custody arrangements displayed signs of disorganized attachment, a severely insecure form of attachment where the child exhibits fear of his caregiver, in a study published in 2003. Long-term separations -- such as if a pregnant woman is incarcerated and her baby is taken from her shortly after birth -- can prevent an infant from forming an attachment to the parent at all.
Trust
Separating an infant from her primary caregiver is highly stressful for her, causing her to feel anxious and become hyper-vigilant at a time when she hasn't yet learned to regulate her emotions. The fact that her primary caregiver doesn't appear when she cries -- particularly if it happens during the night when she naturally feels more vulnerable and anxious -- erodes her sense of trust and security in her caregiver. Ultimately, she comes to see her caregiver as unreliable.
Stranger Anxiety
Stranger anxiety, which usually appears between 6 and 9 months, develops when an infant develops a preference for his regular caretakers -- and an aversion for people he doesn't recognize. If an infant has had limited contact with a parent and has failed to develop a strong attachment to her, he may treat that parent the way he would a stranger. He may cry, become quiet or hide when she appears.
Emotional Difficulties
Separation from a primary caregiver during infancy may cause long-term emotional difficulties for a child, leaving her stuck at the psychological developmental stage she was in when the separation occurred. She may have difficulty trusting others since she couldn't trust her parent, or she may be unable to meet others' dependency needs since her own weren't met. Changes in routine due to having multiple caregivers may interfere with her understanding of cause and effect, resulting in learning problems once she reaches school age.
References
- Practice Notes; Effects of Attachment and Separation; July 1997
- The Liz Library; Debunking the Claims About Joint Versus Sole Custody; Elizabeth J. Kates
- Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation; Effects of Parental Incarceration on Young Children; Ross D. Parke; December 2001
- Family Court Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal; Divorce in the Nursery: On Infants and Overnight Care; Carol George, et al.; July 2011
- NurturingParenting.com; Effects of Separation and Loss on Children's Development; Susan Hois
- University of Missouri Extension; Helping Infants and Toddlers Adjust to Divorce; Kim Leon; April 2004
