Relations between early childhood care arrangements and college students' psychosocial development and academic...

Associations were explored between early substitute care and white middle-class college students' psychosocial development and academic performance. One set of analyses explored associations with the amount of substitute care experienced throughout early childhood (infancy and at ages 2 and 4) and college students' development; another set explored associations between amount of substitute care during infancy (none, part-time, or full-time). Substitute care experience during infancy alone did not differentiate students on the Erikson Psychosocial Inventory Scale (EPSI). There were some near-significant differences on the EPSI among students in different child care arrangements throughout early childhood, but these did not present a consistent pattern. Students' care experience also did not predict the number of extra-curricular activities in which they were presently involved or whether they chose people- or thing-oriented academic majors. However, no day care in infancy followed by full-time day care at ages 2 and 4 was the best predictor of above-average high school academic achievement, and part-time care throughout infancy and early childhood was the best predictor of average high school academic achievement.