Child care in the preschool years: Attachment, behaviour problems and cognitive development

Abstract

The possible implications of the experience of non parental care on cognitive development and on behaviour problems are considered in interaction with individual and contextual variables. A sample of 47 Swiss children who experienced varying kinds of care arrangements were studied longitudinally between 1 and 5 years of age. The effects of the experience of care were related to mothers’ reports of behavioral problems (CBCL, with subscales of internalizing and of externalizing problems) at age 5, and to cognitive developmental quotients (at 1, 2 and 5 years). Several variables were considered for their potential interaction with the experience of care, such as the pattern of attachment to the mother (observed at 21 months of age in the “Strange Situation”), characteristics of the experience of care (duration and type of care), its quality (relationship with non parental caregivers), the socio-economic status of the family, etc. The effect of non parental care on behaviour problems (5 years) happened to be mediated by the the pattern of attachment to the mother: insecurely attached children had some risk to be reported as having externalizing problems, but this didn’t occur when they had an extended experience of non parental care, and when non parental care was mainly family-based. The effect of non parental care on cognitive development was mediated by the quality of care: children with a positive contact with the caregivers had greater cognitive gains between 2 and 5 years; the relationship with the care-givers itself was influenced by the quality of the relationship with the mother. The limited size and origin of the sample restricts generalization, however these data might contribute to the notion that non parental care can have varying effects depending of the type of care, the quality of the relation with the caregivers, the age and personal traits of the child.

Résumé

Un échantillon de 47 enfants suisses ayant connu différents types de garde non-parentale a fait l’objet d’une étude longitudinale entre les âges de un et cinq ans. Les effets des modes de garde ont été appréhendés à cinq ans à partir des problèmes de comportement rapportér par les mères (échelle CBCL) et des quotients de développement cognitifs établis à un, deux et cinq ans. Plusieurs variables ont été prises en compte du fait de leur liaison éventuelle avec l’expérience de garde: pattern d’attachement à la mère (observé à 21 mois), durée, type et qualité (relations avec les gardiennes) de la prise en charge, statut socio-économique de la famille, etc. L’effet de la garde sur le problèmes comportementaux varient en fonction du pattern d’attachement à la mère. L’ effet sur le développement cognitif dépend la qualité de la relation avec les gardiennes, cette dernière dépendant elle-même de la qualtté de la relation à la mère.