Family selection and child care experiences: implications for studies of child outcomes

Early Child Care Effects on Later Behavioral Outcomes Using a Canadian Nation-Wide Sample

“…More recently, Romano et al (2010) found family variables to be significantly associated with behavioral outcomes over and above the effects of child care and socio-demographic factors. In regards to socio-demographics, families with greater material and social resources (e.g., income, education, employment) appear more likely to use higher-quality child care and to attend center-based care, as child care (especially center-based care) is often a significant family expense (Burchinal & Nelson, 2000). Bradley and Vandell (2007) noted that high-quality child care can serve as a protective factor for children at risk (e.g., children under the primary care of mothers exhibiting depressive symptoms).…”

“…The use of high-quality care has also been found to be associated with parents who provide more stimulating home environments, hold less authoritarian child-rearing beliefs, and use more responsive and sensitive practices (Burchinal & Nelson, 2000;Lamb, 1998;NICHD ECCRN, 1999). As Burchinal and Nelson (2000) explain, research has clearly demonstrated that parents do not choose child care arrangements randomly.…”

“…As Burchinal and Nelson (2000) explain, research has clearly demonstrated that parents do not choose child care arrangements randomly. Consequently, research designed to delineate the effects of child care on children's developmental outcomes ought to account for such contextual factors.…”

“…Second, the study relied exclusively on parent-reported measures. Some researchers claim that parents are not accurate reporters of child care quality in that there are significant inconsistencies between parents and trained observers on such measures (Burchinal & Nelson, 2000). This is understandable given that parents are generally not present for significant lengths of time during the child care day.…”

Family Income and School Readiness Skills

“…To measure childcare quality, the present dissertation borrows from prior research (Burchinal & Nelson, 2000;Ruzek, Burchinal, Farkas, & Duncan, 2014) that treats scores from each measure equally in analyses and accounts for potential differences in mean scores and variability across the two instruments. To ensure the quality construct is appropriate, the present dissertation allows quality to vary by type of care to account for any differences that might be measure based.…”