Abstract
Background
Existing research suggests that there is a relationship between greater exposure to center-based child care and child behavioral problems though the mechanism for the impact is unclear. However the measure used to document child care has usually been average hours, which may be particularly unreliable in the early months when fewer children are in center care. In addition individual trajectories for behavior difficulties have not been studied.
Objective
The purpose of the current study was to examine whether the extent of exposure to center-based child care before 2 years predicted the trajectory of children’s difficult behavior (i.e., tantrums and unmanageable behavior) from 30 to 51 months controlling for child and maternal characteristics.
Method
Data were drawn from UK-based families, children and child care study (n = 1201). Individual growth models were fitted to test the relation between early center-based child care experiences and subsequent difficult behavior.
Results
Children with more exposure to center-based care before two had less difficult behavior at 30 months, but more increase over time. Initial levels were predicted by higher difficult temperament and lower verbal ability. Higher difficult temperament and lower family socio-economic status predicted its change over time.
Conclusion
Findings suggest that early exposure to center-based care before 2 years old is a risk factor for subsequent behavior problems especially when children have a longer period of exposure. A possible explanatory process is that child coping strategies to manage frustration are less well developed in a group context, especially when they lag behind in expressive language.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the families who took part in the study and the research team. Data for this study were drawn from the Families, Children and Childcare Study, funded by the Tedworth Charitable Trust and the Glass-House Trust and led by Dr. Penelope Leach and Professor Jacqueline Barnes in London and by Professor Alan Stein, Professor Kathy Sylva and Dr. Lars-Erik Malmberg in Oxford.
Conflict of interest
Neither author has any conflict of interest in the form of grants, employment by, consultancy for, shared ownership in, or any close relationship with, an organization whose interests, financial or otherwise, may be affected by the publication of the paper.
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Eryigit-Madzwamuse, S., Barnes, J. Is Early Center-Based Child Care Associated with Tantrums and Unmanageable Behavior Over Time Up to School Entry?. Child Youth Care Forum 42, 101–117 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-012-9193-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-012-9193-7