Child Care and Child Development: Results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.

Child Care and Child Development: Results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Child Care and Child Development: Results from the NICHD NICHDNational Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Study ofEarly Child Care and Youth Development. Edited by The NICHD Early ChildCare Research Network. New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY: The Guilford Press, 2005.Hardcover, 474 pages, $25.00 As the number of mothers in the United States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. entering theworkforce grew rapidly between the 1970s and 1990s, questions about theeffects of child care on young children's development andmother-child relationships were raised by parents and policymakers. Thiswas the impetus for the National Institute on Child and HumanDevelopment (NICHD) to embark on Verb 1. embark on - get off the ground; "Who started this company?"; "We embarked on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with a good breakfast"; "We began the new semester"; "The afternoon session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started when the partisans a 10-site, longitudinal study longitudinal studya chronological study in epidemiology which attempts to establish a relationship between an antecedent cause and a subsequent effect. See also cohort study. trackingthe development of 1,364 children starting in infancy infancy,stage of human development lasting from birth to approximately two years of age. The hallmarks of infancy are physical growth, motor development, vocal development, and cognitive and social development. to examine theeffects of child care. Data from this comprehensive study were presentedin over 116 scientific articles to date, and this book contains abridgedversions of the most important papers. The study advanced understandingof the effects of child care by improving on the experimental designsused in previous studies and including follow-up measures. The quality of the data in the study was enhanced by reportingattrition rates Noun 1. attrition rate - the rate of shrinkage in size or numberrate of attritionrate - a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit; "they traveled at a rate of 55 miles per hour"; "the rate of change was faster than expected" , observer training and reliability, and exclusioncriteria exclusion criteriaAIDSDonor exclusion criteria, see there (e.g., mothers who did not speak English and families who livedin dangerous neighborhoods). Methods of data collection includedinterviews with mothers and care providers in person and by phone aswell as observations of, and standardized standardizedpertaining to data that have been submitted to standardization procedures.standardized morbidity ratesee morbidity rate.standardized mortality ratesee mortality rate. assessments with, children intheir homes, in laboratories, in child care settings, and in classroomsat 1, 6, 15, 24, 36, and 54 months and in first grade. Observers weretrained using manuals, meetings with investigators, videotapes,feedback, and evaluations. These methodological procedures werecarefully and clearly described throughout the book. Child care was defined in this study as care by anyone other thanthe child's mother for more than 10 hours per week. Measures forthe study were selected based on the conceptualization con��cep��tu��al��ize?v. con��cep��tu��al��ized, con��cep��tu��al��iz��ing, con��cep��tu��al��iz��esv.tr.To form a concept or concepts of, and especially to interpret in a conceptual way: that variables ofthe child care environment, the home environment, and the childintermingle in��ter��min��gle?tr. & intr.v. in��ter��min��gled, in��ter��min��gling, in��ter��min��glesTo mix or become mixed together.intermingleVerb[-gling, to predict children's development. The variables ofinterest in the child care setting were the number of hours in care, theage at which children entered child care, the type of care (e.g., home,center), the number of care arrangements, and the quality of care.Quality of child care was assessed using the Observational Record of theCare-giving Environment (ORCE), a measure developed by the NICHD (seeChapter 3). In the home, the variables assessed were based on structure,such as who lives in the home and the mother's employment; quality,such as parental sensitivity, parental involvement, and parentalattitudes on authoritarian childrearing; and parental variables, such asmarital Pertaining to the relationship of Husband and Wife; having to do with marriage.Marital agreements are contracts that are entered into by individuals who are about to be married, are already married, or are in the process of ending a marriage. quality and maternal depression. The child outcome variableswere social-emotional functioning; and cognitive, language, and physicaldevelopment. Part 1 provided an overview and contained Chapter 1 which presenteddescriptive findings from the study. One example was that children, onaverage, entered child care at 3 months of age, were placed in 2-3different settings in their first year, and spent 29-33 hours per weekin child care. An alarming finding was that the majority of observedchild care settings did not meet the standards of the American PublicHealth Association The American Public Health Association (APHA) is Washington, D.C.-based professional organization for public health professionals in the United States. Founded in 1872 by Dr. Stephen Smith, APHA has more than 30,000 members worldwide. and the American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics ("AAP") is an organization of pediatricians, physicians trained to deal with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. Its motto is: "Dedicated to the Health of All Children. . This isparticularly discomforting in light of the findings that high qualitycare was correlated cor��re��late?v. cor��re��lat��ed, cor��re��lat��ing, cor��re��latesv.tr.1. To put or bring into causal, complementary, parallel, or reciprocal relation.2. with high levels of social competence and fewbehavior problems. In Part 2, five chapters presented studies of child care use andquality. Chapter 2 was concerned with the nature of child care inchildren during their first year of life. Of the 1,364 childrenfollowed, 80% of one-year-olds had received some nonmaternal care. Thechildren of mothers who worked full time entered child caresignificantly sooner and received more hours of child care than thechildren of mothers who worked part time. In terms of the type of carechildren received during their first year, 25% received father orpartner care, 24% received care in a child care home of a nonrelative,23% received care by relatives, 12% were enrolled in a child carecenter, and 12% received in-home care by a nonrelative. The number ofchild care arrangements was low during the first year, but less stablematernal employment predicted less stable child care. Chapter 3described the Observational Record of the Caregiving Environment (ORCE),an instrument the NICHD developed to measure the quality of child caresettings. Using direct observation and Likert scales Likert scaleA subjective scoring system that allows a person being surveyed to quantify likes and preferences on a 5-point scale, with 1 being the least important, relevant, interesting, most ho-hum, or other, and 5 being most excellent, yeehah important, etc , the ORCE yieldsdata on structural aspects of the group, such as group size andchild-adult ratio; caregiver care��giv��ern.1. An individual, such as a physician, nurse, or social worker, who assists in the identification, prevention, or treatment of an illness or disability.2. characteristics, such as education andexperience; and caregiver behavior, such as responding to distress,expressing positive feelings, and stimulating cognitive development.During the development of the ORCE, a host of findings regarding qualityindicators of child care settings was made, including that fathers,grandparents grandparentsnpl → abuelos mplgrandparentsgrand npl → grands-parents mplgrandparentsgrand npl , and in-home caregivers engage in more positive caregivingthan child care home and child care center providers. The effects ofpositive and negative caregiving (i.e., quality, as defined here) aredescribed in later chapters, especially Chapters 17, 22, 23, and 26). Chapter 4 describes a comparison of child care patterns between 166children who had disabilities or were at risk for acquiring a disabilitydiagnosis and 139 typically developing children. In families withchildren with disabilities, mothers worked fewer hours and childrenentered child care later, spent fewer hours in child care, and were morelikely to be cared for by relatives. Parents of children with specialneeds did not return to work even when children entered child care andthis meant more economic hardship for the family and increased chancesof receiving welfare. Care providers reported that they were notprepared to care for children with special needs. Chapter 5 presented away for novice observers (e.g., parents and teachers) to assess thequality of child care settings, defined as many positive interactionsbetween adults and children, few behavior problems, and high scores oncognitive and language tests. Because the NICHD found that the mostconsistent predictor of quality was the kind of language that adultsused in child care settings, they included in the chapter the NICHDCaregiver Language Checklist, which allows untrained individuals toobserve a child for an hour, record data in 30-second intervals, andmatch scores to norms. The purpose of the study presented in Chapter 6was to identify predictors of high quality child care environments,primarily defined by positi ve caregiving and measured using the ORCE.The strongest predictors of quality were a low child-adult ratio, aclean and orderly environment, a variety of toys and learning materials,and caregivers with a college education. Quality care at 15 months wasprovided by parents and grandparents and at 36 months by center-basedcaregivers with at least a college education and specialized spe��cial��ize?v. spe��cial��ized, spe��cial��iz��ing, spe��cial��iz��esv.intr.1. To pursue a special activity, occupation, or field of study.2. training. Part 3 of this book was concerned with family characteristics asthey affect child care experiences and interacts with child carevariables to influence development. Investigation of familycharacteristics allows later statistical control of family factors tomake stronger statements about the effects of child care variables. Afamily characteristic that was frequently influential in this part ofthe book (and in other parts) was maternal sensitivity, defined as amaternal supportive presence, the absence of intrusiveness in��tru��sive?adj.1. Intruding or tending to intrude.2. Geology Of or relating to igneous rock that is forced while molten into cracks or between other layers of rock.3. Linguistics Epenthetic. , and theabsence of hostility during 15-min videotaped and coded, semi-structuredplay sessions between mother and child. Chapter 7 reported that highermaternal income strongly predicted later entry into child care and morehours per week in child care. Maternal personality, ethnicity ethnicityVox populi Racial status–ie, African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic , familysize, and maternal education were influential to a lesser extent.Relations between family income, child care experiences, andsubsidization sub��si��dize?tr.v. sub��si��dized, sub��si��diz��ing, sub��si��diz��es1. To assist or support with a subsidy.2. To secure the assistance of by granting a subsidy. opportunities were discussed. Chapter 8 discussed theeffects of child care and family variables on developmental outcomes in3-year-old children eligible who participated in Head Start. Resultsshowed that African American African AmericanMulticulture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.See Race. families were overrepresented o��ver��rep��re��sent��ed?adj.Represented in excessive or disproportionately large numbers: "Some groups, and most notably some races, may be overrepresented and others may be underrepresented" in poverty;that mothers in this group were less educated, worked less, were moredepressed, were less sensitive to their children (based on 15-minvideotaped play sessions), and were less healthy (based on self-reportsusing a 4-point scale); children in this group had less child care andprimarily center-based care; and children in this group performed poorlyon cognitive and language outcomes. Conclusions were that Head Start andearly education programs should improve the quality and diversity oftheir services to meet the needs of children in poverty. In Chapter 9,growth curve analyses were used to examine the effects of changes in theincome-to-needs ratio (family income divided by poverty threshold The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum level of income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate standard of living. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed forthe appropriate family size) on the developmental outcomes of childrenin child care. Changes in income-to-need were more influential forfamilies below the poverty line than for affluent families withincreases in the ratio predicting better developmental outcomes. Chapter 10 was concerned with the effects of maternal depression onchildren's development and found that low income was a strongpredictor of maternal depression and more maternal depression meant lesssensitivity with their children that, in turn, predicted lowerdevelopmental outcomes in the areas of cognition cognitionAct or process of knowing. Cognition includes every mental process that may be described as an experience of knowing (including perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, and reasoning), as distinguished from an experience of feeling or of willing. , language, and schoolreadiness. The chapter also discussed how 24 months was the age whenchildren become autonomous and negative and this can lower thesensitivity in a depressed mother. The questions raised in Chapter 11regarded the extent to which high quality child care would improve theoutcomes of children with familial familial/fa��mil��i��al/ (fah-mil��e-il) occurring in more members of a family than would be expected by chance. fa��mil��ialadj. risks and the extent to which lowquality child care would weaken the outcomes of children withoutfamilial risk. In general, high child care quality did not improve theoutcomes of children with familial risk with the exception of improvingthe prosocial behavior of children with sociocultural so��ci��o��cul��tur��al?adj.Of or involving both social and cultural factors.soci��o��cul risk. Low qualitychild care did not alter the development of children with low familialrisk. This strengthens a general finding of this book that familyfactors have stronger influences on development than do child carefactors. This chapter also provided a discussion of the limitations ofverbal reports of problem behavior and prosocial behavior. The rationale for the two chapters in Part 4 was the concern thatexperiences in child care settings affect children's health Children's HealthDefinitionChildren's health encompasses the physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being of children from infancy through adolescence. , suchas contracting communicable diseases communicable diseases,illnesses caused by microorganisms and transmitted from an infected person or animal to another person or animal. Some diseases are passed on by direct or indirect contact with infected persons or with their excretions. . In Chapter 12, the researchersfound that if more children are present, children have increased chancesof contracting a gastrointestinal illness, an upper respiratory tractinfection upper respiratory tract infectionURI Infectious disease A nonspecific term used to describe acute infections involving the nose, paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx, the prototypic URI is the common cold; flu/influenza is a systemic illness involving the URT , or an ear infection (otitis media Otitis MediaDefinitionOtitis media is an infection of the middle ear space, behind the eardrum (tympanic membrane). It is characterized by pain, dizziness, and partial loss of hearing. ), but the chances ofcontracting these illnesses were not increased with the amount of timespent in child care. The other major finding was that illness in childcare did not alter developmental outcomes such as cognition and schoolreadiness, but it did affect maternal-reported behavior problems (butnot caregiver-reported behavior problems). Chapter 13 was interested inthe effects that health in child care had on the health of 3-year-oldsin preschool and particularly if more exposure to illness in child carewould immunize im��mu��nizev.1. To render immune.2. To produce immunity in, as by inoculation.im children against illnesses in preschool. The authorsfound that if a child was with six or more children between age zero andtwo, the chance of illness after age three was not affected; but if achild was with six or more children between ages two and three, the riskof illness after age three was reduced. The authors reported that a commonly-asked question was whethernonmaternal child care affected the relationship between mothers andtheir children and this was the emphasis of Part 5. The primary measureof attachment security was the laboratory-based "StrangeSituation" in which the child's behavior is observed when thefollowing situation happens two times: the mother plays with the child,leaves, and then returns. The findings in Chapter 14 were that childcare variables (type, amount, age of entry, quality) did not affectattachment security, but maternal sensitivity, responsiveness, andpsychological adjustment did. Although these findings were contrary toprevious studies showing that attachment was affected by child care, itstrengthens the general finding that family variables are moreinfluential than child care variables. Analogous analogous/anal��o��gous/ (ah-nal��ah-gus) resembling or similar in some respects, as in function or appearance, but not in origin or development. a��nal��o��gousadj. results were reportedin Chapter 15 which examined similar variables longitudinally lon��gi��tu��di��nal?adj.1. a. Of or relating to longitude or length: a longitudinal reckoning by the navigator; made longitudinal measurements of the hull.b. from age15 to 36 months. Chapter 16 provided information about the relationshipbetween the communication between parents and caregivers. Specifically,if parents and caregivers communicate about the experiences and needs ofthe children, will the children have improved developmental outcomes?The participants in this study were 53 children from the Wisconsin siteof the study. Results showed that communication between parents andcaregivers meant more quality child care experiences, as indicated bymore stimulation and caregiver sensitivity, and more quality parentalexperiences at home, as indicated by more sensitivity and cognitivestimulation. In Chapter 17, the research questions further exploredvariables affecting the mother-child relationship, namely amount ofcare, instability and quality of care (based on the ORCE [see Chapter3]), family income, and maternal depression. The results showed thatmore time in care meant less positive mother-child interactions, butfamily income and maternal education predicted this dependent variableto a larger extent. Another interesting finding was that quality ofchild care did not influence the mother-child relationship, but morequality meant more maternal sensitivity. It was suggested that thequality care providers possibly served as role models for insensitive in��sen��si��tive?adj.1. Not physically sensitive; numb.2. a. Lacking in sensitivity to the feelings or circumstances of others; unfeeling.b. mothers. Chapter 18 explored child care and family variables that affectthe mother-child relationship from when the child is three-years-olduntil the child is in first grade and if those associations change overtime. Results showed that ethnicity was a significant variable in theserelations. For example, in only white families, more hours of care meantless maternal sensitivity and less positive engagement. Familyvariables, i.e., higher income, more maternal education, and lessmaternal depression, predicted more positive engagement. Part 6 presents data on another set of critical questions regardingchild care--its impact on children's psychological development. Therationale for these studies was that children who are in many hours ofcare, poor quality care, and unstable care acquire psychologicalstressors that affect their emotional adjustment and cognitive, social,and linguistic development. Chapter 19 reported influences of child careon children's behavior problems and social competence such as morehours in care during the first two years were predictive of lowmaternal-reported social competence and high caregiver-reported behaviorproblems. However, the analyses that controlled for family variables,such as maternal education and maternal sensitivity, revealed thatfamily and child variables were more influential than child carevariables on children's social competence and behavior problems.The questions raised in Chapter 20 concerned child care experiences thatinfluenced children's peer competence, as measured by observing andcoding behaviors during semi-structured and standardized playarrangements. Again, family variables such as maternal sensitivity andchild language and cognitive skills cognitive skillPsychology Any of a number of acquired skills that reflect an individual's ability to think; CSs include verbal and spatial abilities, and have a significant hereditary component more strongly influenced peercompetence than did child care variables. Another interesting findingwas that experience with other children in child care settings increasedpositive peer play, but it also increased negative peer interactions. InChapter 21, relations between the amount of time spent in child care andsocioemotional adjustment during the transition to kindergarten kindergarten[Ger.,=garden of children], system of preschool education. Friedrich Froebel designed (1837) the kindergarten to provide an educational situation less formal than that of the elementary school but one in which children's creative play instincts would be werereported. It was found that if more time was spent in child care, morebehavior problems occurred and children were less socially competentwhen transitioning to kindergarten. The results were significant, evenwhen covariates such as child care type and quality, child gender,family income, and maternal sensitivity were taken into account, but theeffects were moderate in size. Chapter 22 reported promising results forchild care: high quality care (with caregivers who were responsive,sensitive, and provided language stimulation) and center-based careproduced strong cognitive and language outcomes at 36 months. This wasthe case even when family variables (i.e., child gender, family income,ethnicity, and maternal education) were statistically controlled,thereby strengthening the conclusion about the effects of the qualityand type of child care. Chapter 23 was concerned with the effects of child care quality ondevelopmental outcomes at age 4 1/2 years. The authors found thatquality care, especially with a large amount of language stimulation,meant strong cognitive development, less impulsivity, and more socialcompetence. This study also reported the effects of watching TV andfound that children who watched less TV had higher cognitive outcomesand better peer competence than children who watched more TV. Theeffects of child care centers that meet standards of quality onchildren's developmental outcomes was the question raised inChapter 24. Researchers found that when the standards were met(especially child-adult ratio standards at age 24 months and caregivereducation and training at age 36 months), children had fewer behaviorproblems, better school readiness, and better language comprehension Sentence comprehension is the ability to derive from concepts linguistics input (through writing or speech acts). What is known about sentence comprehensionLocal vs. Global AmbiguitySentence comprehension deals with lexical, structural, and semantic ambiguities. .These results are important because they have the potential to directlyaffect policy in terms of requiring child care standards. Chapter 25presented a study that, for the first time in a single analytic an��a��lyt��icor an��a��lyt��i��caladj.1. Of or relating to analysis or analytics.2. Expert in or using analysis, especially one who thinks in a logical manner.3. Psychoanalytic. model,showed a pathway pathway/path��way/ (path��wa)1. a course usually followed.2. the nerve structures through which an impulse passes between groups of nerve cells or between the central nervous system and an organ or muscle. from structural child care variables (ratio, caregivertraining) to process child care variables (caregiving) to outcomes(cognitive and social competence). The pathways were significant, evenwhen controlling for participant selection variables, which is importantbecause structural child care variables are manipulable by statesshowing that states have the capability of making positive change. Thepurpose of Chapter 26 was to determine if certain child care variables(quantity, quality, and type) would affect developmental outcomes forchildren who were about to enter school at age 4 1/2 years. They foundthat child care variables were meaningfully significant in terms ofhigher quality care predicting higher scores on tests of memory,language, and preacademics and more hours spent in care predictinghigher levels of behavior problems. Part 7 focused on the effects of family variables on thedevelopment of children enrolled in child care. The general finding fromthe previously reported studies that family variables more stronglyaffect developmental outcomes than child care variables alone was amajor rationale for this set of analyses. Chapter 27 was concerned withfactors associated with fathers' caregiving activities andsensitivity with their children. Findings were that fathers were moreinvolved in caregiving if they were younger, worked few hours, hadpositive personalities, and had sons. Non-traditional childrearingbeliefs predicted fathers' sensitivity during play. The questionraised in Chapter 28 was whether or not family variables would influencechildren more if they were or were not in child care. Consistent withthe results of other analyses in this book, family variables (especiallymaternal sensitivity and depression, income, and the presence of twoparents) were influential whether or not children were in child care. Following the presentation of this volume of data providingremarkable answers to some of the most pressing questions concerning theeffects of child care on children's relationships with theirmothers and developmental outcomes, Chapter 29, entitled en��ti��tle?tr.v. en��ti��tled, en��ti��tling, en��ti��tles1. To give a name or title to.2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: , "FamiliesMatter--Even for Kids in Child Care," provided a discussion of theprimary conclusion from the book: "Overall, the findings suggestthat the role of families is not substantially weakened weak��en?tr. & intr.v. weak��ened, weak��en��ing, weak��ensTo make or become weak or weaker.weaken��er n. or changed withconsiderable child care experience in the earliest years" (p. 419).The findings in this book differed from previous findings, but thescience used was more rigorous than in previous studies. The rigor rigor/rig��or/ (rig��er) [L.] chill; rigidity.rigor mor��tis? the stiffening of a dead body accompanying depletion of adenosine triphosphate in the muscle fibers. ledto the conclusions that, moreso than child care variables, maternalsensitivity, psychological adjustment, and language stimulationinfluenced children's security attachments, social competence, andpeer competence. The authors discussed sampling and procedurallimitations and stated a possible implication of the findings ofeducating parents about their critical role in influencing thedevelopment and psychological well-being psychological well-beingResearch A nebulous legislative term intended to ensure that certain categories of lab animals, especially primates, don't 'go nuts' as a result of experimental design or conditions of their children. The finalchapter, Chapter 30, was a commentary by Sharon Landesman Ramey, aresearcher of early child development and child care, who had noinvolvement in the NICHD study. Dr. Ramey discussed how this study fitinto the new era of "Big Science" because of its large scopeand careful design, conduct, and analysis. A limitation she stated wasthe relative inattention in��at��ten��tion?n.Lack of attention, notice, or regard.Noun 1. inattention - lack of attentionbasic cognitive process - cognitive processes involved in obtaining and storing knowledge to children's individual biology whichprecludes the identification of the causal causal/cau��sal/ (kaw��z'l) pertaining to, involving, or indicating a cause. causalrelating to or emanating from cause. mechanisms of differentcourses of development. Dr. Ramey made the statement that the worldshould act on the findings of this study to improve families, childcare, and the development of our children. This book offered many wonderful answers and analyses regarding theeffects of child care on the lives of children and their families. Theuse of correlational data in this book limits the findings, particularlyin terms of identifying which variables influence other variables. Forexample, high quality care was correlated with high maternalsensitivity. Is this because more sensitive mothers seek out morequality care for their children? Do high quality care providers serve asrole models for less sensitive mothers, as suggested by the authors? Isthere a causal pathway from family income to maternal sensitivity tohigh quality child care? These causal relationships are not known, butthe correlative Having a reciprocal relationship in that the existence of one relationship normally implies the existence of the other.Mother and child, and duty and claim, are correlative terms. relationships found in this study are sufficient toimpact policy. Finally, a quote by Dr. Ramey sums up the impact of thisbook on its readers: "The reader who studies the conceptualframework For the concept in aesthetics and art criticism, see .A conceptual framework is used in research to outline possible courses of action or to present a preferred approach to a system analysis project. and the history of the NICHD Early Child Care Study willreceive the equivalent of an advanced scholarly course in the currentviews about the nature of human development and how to identify whatmatters in the lives of young children" (p. 430). Reviewed by Judah B. Axe, The Ohio State University Ohio State University,main campus at Columbus; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1870, opened 1873 as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, renamed 1878. There are also campuses at Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark.