Child care in the preschool years: Attachment, behaviour problems and cognitive development

Abstract

The possible implications ofthe experience ofnon parental care on cognitive development and on behaviour problems are considered in interaction with individual and contextual variables. A sample of 47 Swiss children who experienced varying kinds of care arrangements were studied longitudinally between 1 and 5 years ofage. The effects of the experience of care were related to mothers' reports of behavioral problems (CBCL, with subscales of internalizing and of externalizing problems) at age 5, and to cognitive developmental quotients (at 1, 2 and 5 years). Several variables were considered for their potential interaction with the experience of care, such as the pattern of attachment to the mother (observed at 21 months of age in the "Strange Situation "}, characteristics ofthe experience ofcare (duration and type of care), its quality (relationship with non parental caregivers), the socio-economic status ofthe family, etc. The effect ofnon parental care on behaviour problems (5 years) happened to be mediated by the the pattern of attachment to the mother: insecurely attached children had some risk to be reported as having externalizingproblems, but this didn't occur when they had an extended experience of non parental care, and when non parental care was mainly family-based. The effect of non parental care on cognitive development was mediated by the quality of care: children with a positive contact with the caregivers had greater cognitive gains between 2 and 5 years; the relationship with the caregivers itself was influenced by the quality of the relationship with the mother. The limited size and origin of the sample restricts generalization, however these data might contribute to the notion that non parental care can have varying effects depending of the type of care, the quality of the relation with the caregivers, the age and personal traits ofthe child.

The relationship between quantity, type, and timing of external childcare and child problem behaviour in Switzerland

“…Pierrehumbert, Ramstein, Karmaniola, and Halfon (1996) found no evidence for an independent relationship between amount of childcare and problem behaviour at age 5; rather, the relationship was mediated by attachment to the mother. Type of care mattered: Collective care was related to higher externalizing behaviour than family-based care.…”

Nonmaternal care in infancy and emotional/behavioral difficulties at 4 years old: Moderation by family risk characteristics.

“…First, in a crosssectional study (n ϭ 94 mother-child dyads), Crockenberg and Litman (1991) found that toddlers from low-socioeconomic status (SES) families whose mothers were employed (which was virtually equivalent with NMC) were less defiant than their low-SES peers whose mothers were not employed. Second, Pierrehumbert, Ramstein, Karmaniola, and Halfon (1996) found that extensive day care involvement (at least 2 days per week during the preschool years) protected insecurely attached children (n ϭ 47) against the risk for disruptive behavior at 5 years old.…”

Quality of attachment, perinatal risk, and mother–infant interaction in a high‐risk premature sample

“…Information about the SES was collected at the NICU discharge, with a scale based on the Hollinghead's Index, combining parents education level and work position (Pierrehumbert, Ramstein, Karmaniola, & Halfon, 1996).…”