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Infant day-care, attachment, and the "file drawer problem"
L A Roggman1, J H Langlois, L Hubbs-Tait
1Department of Family and Human Development, Utah State University, Logan 84322-2905.
Insights
Replication studies on infant day-care and attachment are crucial. This study found no consistent effects, suggesting day-care center attendance does not definitively impact infant attachment security.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Development
- Attachment Theory
Background:
- The existing literature on infant day-care and attachment may be influenced by publication bias, as unpublished studies showing null results are often unavailable.
- Replication studies are vital for confirming or refuting previous findings and clarifying the complex relationship between early childcare experiences and infant attachment security.
Purpose of the Study:
- To replicate previous research suggesting that infants attending day-care are at higher risk for insecure attachment.
- To investigate the association between different types of day-care (full-time vs. part-time) and infant attachment security in a sample of 12-month-olds.
Main Methods:
- A replication study involving 105 infants at 12 months of age.
- Analysis of attachment outcomes in relation to varying levels of day-care exposure (full-time, part-time, and no day-care).
- Examination of methodological factors, including specific measures, definitions of part-time/full-time care, and statistical approaches.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant or consistently robust effects of day-care on infant attachment security were found in this replication attempt.
- A non-significant trend indicated a potential association between less day-care (little or part-time) and more negative attachment outcomes compared to full-time day-care.
- Study outcomes were sensitive to variations in measurement tools, definitions of care, and statistical analyses employed.
Conclusions:
- The findings do not consistently support the hypothesis that infant day-care increases the risk of insecure attachment.
- Methodological variations in research design significantly influence the outcomes of studies examining the day-care and attachment link.
- Further rigorous replication studies are needed to establish a clearer understanding of the relationship between early childcare and infant attachment.
Abstract:
The research literature on infant day-care and attachment may be biased by the unavailability of "file drawer" studies, unpublished data showing no statistically significant effects. Replication studies, whether showing an effect or not, are essential to clarify the relation between day-care and attachment. This study of 105 12-month-olds is an attempt to replicate four similar studies summarized and combined by Belsky to show that infants in day-care are at risk for insecure attachment. In the present study, no results were robust enough to emerge consistently, although there was a trend for more negative attachment outcomes to be associated with little or part-time day-care rather than with full-time day-care. In general, the results suggest that the specific measures, definitions of full- and part-time, and statistical techniques used in studies examining the relation between day-care and attachment are likely to affect the outcome of such studies.