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Updated: Oct 3, 2026

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
08:09

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

Published on: February 11, 2017

Social-emotional consequences of day care for preschool children

Michael Rutter1

  • 1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
|January 1, 1981
PubMed

Insights

Daycare for young children may not cause serious emotional issues, but risks exist. Outcomes depend on daycare quality, child

Area of Science:

  • Child development
  • Early childhood education
  • Developmental psychology

Background:

  • Growing use of day care for infants and toddlers.
  • Concerns regarding social and emotional development in early care settings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review existing research on the social and emotional effects of day care.
  • To identify risks and influencing factors.
  • To suggest areas for future research and policy.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review of empirical studies.
  • Synthesis of evidence on social-emotional outcomes.
  • Analysis of moderating factors (e.g., quality, child characteristics, family context).

Main Results:

  • Day care is unlikely to cause severe emotional disturbance.
  • Potential risks and effects are associated with day care experiences.
  • Outcomes are contingent upon day care quality, child's age, individual traits, and family circumstances.

Conclusions:

  • Day care's impact is nuanced, not uniformly negative or positive.
  • Quality of care is a critical determinant of child outcomes.
  • Further research is needed to fully understand long-term effects and inform policy.

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