Time spent in child care: How and why does it affect social development?

Area of Science:

• Child Development
• Developmental Psychology
• Early Childhood Education

Background:

• Early and extensive child care is increasingly common.
• Previous research suggests associations between child care quantity and child behavior.
• The specific mechanisms and moderating factors require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the processes linking the quantity of child care to externalizing behavior problems.
• To investigate moderating factors such as quality of care, socioeconomic status, and family background.
• To differentiate effects on various types of social behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of teacher ratings of child behavior.
• Examination of associations between child care quantity and externalizing behaviors.
• Investigation of moderating effects of care quality, socioeconomic disadvantage, and family ethnicity.

Main Results:

• Children in early and extensive child care showed more teacher-rated externalizing behavior problems.
• High-quality child care attenuated but did not eliminate this association.
• The effect was primarily observed in advantaged White non-Hispanic families and for externalizing behaviors, not positive social skills.

Conclusions:

• The quantity of early child care, particularly center-based care, is associated with increased externalizing behavior problems in some children.
• Poor caregiver-child relationships and negative peer interactions may mediate this effect.
• Further research is needed on long-term effects, individual differences, and cultural variations.