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Children's physiological responses to childcare

Harriet J Vermeer1, Marleen G Groeneveld1

  • 1Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9555, 2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands.

Current Opinion in Psychology
|August 17, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Children

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Childcare Research

Background:

  • Children's physiological stress responses, particularly cortisol levels, are elevated in out-of-home childcare settings compared to home environments.
  • Existing research consistently shows higher cortisol levels in children attending childcare.
  • Understanding factors influencing these stress responses is crucial for child well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent evidence on correlates of elevated cortisol levels in children during out-of-home childcare.
  • To examine the impact of childcare characteristics and child-specific factors on physiological stress.
  • To highlight advancements in stress biomarker analysis and suggest future research directions.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent scientific literature on children's physiological responses to childcare.
  • Analysis of studies examining cortisol levels in relation to childcare quality, group size, care type, and child characteristics.
  • Inclusion of research utilizing hair cortisol analysis and immunomarkers of stress.

Main Results:

  • Childcare quality is a significant correlate of elevated cortisol levels; higher quality care is associated with lower stress.
  • Group size and type of care (e.g., center-based vs. home-based) do not appear to significantly influence cortisol levels.
  • Elevated cortisol at childcare is more pronounced in toddlers than infants, and in children exhibiting inhibited or aggressive behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • Childcare quality is a critical factor influencing children's physiological stress responses.
  • Certain child characteristics, such as age and temperament, moderate stress levels in childcare.
  • Further experimental and longitudinal research is needed to establish causality and investigate long-term health and developmental impacts.

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