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Differential susceptibility to parenting and quality child care
1Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Insights
Children with difficult temperaments are more susceptible to parenting and child care quality. This differential susceptibility impacts cognitive-academic and social functioning into middle childhood.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Development
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Differential susceptibility theory posits that certain individuals are more sensitive to environmental influences.
- Previous research suggests temperament moderates the impact of parenting and child care quality.
- A major U.S. child care study questioned the influence of care quality on social adjustment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if infants with difficult temperaments are more susceptible to early rearing effects.
- To examine the long-term impact of parenting and child care quality on cognitive-academic and social functioning.
- To determine if differential susceptibility extends to late middle childhood.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study following 1,364 American children from 1 month to 11 years.
- Repeated observational assessments of parenting and child care quality.
- Teacher reports and standardized assessments of children's cognitive-academic and social functioning.
Main Results:
- Evidence supports differential susceptibility to both parenting and child care quality.
- Temperament-moderated rearing effects were observed for cognitive-academic and social functioning.
- These effects persisted into late middle childhood.
Conclusions:
- Differential susceptibility to rearing environments is evident in cognitive-academic and social development.
- Early rearing experiences significantly impact children with difficult temperaments.
- Previous evaluations may have underestimated child care quality effects by not accounting for temperament.
Abstract:
Research on differential susceptibility to rearing suggests that infants with difficult temperaments are disproportionately affected by parenting and child care quality, but a major U.S. child care study raises questions as to whether quality of care influences social adjustment. One thousand three hundred sixty-four American children from reasonably diverse backgrounds were followed from 1 month to 11 years with repeated observational assessments of parenting and child care quality, as well as teacher report and standardized assessments of children's cognitive-academic and social functioning, to determine whether those with histories of difficult temperament proved more susceptible to early rearing effects at ages 10 and 11. Evidence for such differential susceptibility emerges in the case of both parenting and child care quality and with respect to both cognitive-academic and social functioning. Differential susceptibility to parenting and child care quality extends to late middle childhood. J. Belsky, D. L. Vandell, et al.'s (2007) failure to consider such temperament-moderated rearing effects in their evaluation of long-term child care effects misestimates effects of child care quality on social adjustment.
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