B. Pierrehumbert et al., CHILD-CARE IN THE PRESCHOOL YEARS - ATTACHMENT, BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS ANDCOGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENT, European journal of psychology of education, 11(2), 1996, pp. 201-214
The possible implications of the experience of non parental care on co
gnitive development and on behaviour problems are considered in intera
ction with individual and contextual variables. A sample of 47 Swiss c
hildren who experienced varying kinds of care arrangements were studie
d longitudinally between I and 5 years of age. The effects of the expe
rience 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 yea
rs). 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''), c
haracteristics of the experience of care (duration and type of care),
its quality (relationship with non parental caregivers), the socio-eco
nomic status of the family, etc. The effect of non parental cave on be
haviour problems (5 years) happened to be mediated by the the pattern
of attachment to the mother: insecurely attached children had some ris
k to be reported as having externalizing problems, but this didn't occ
ur 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: ch
ildren with a positive contact with the caregivers had greater cogniti
ve gains between 2 and 5 years; the relationship with the care-givers
itself was influenced by the quality of the relationship with the moth
er. 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 quali
ty of the relation with the caregivers, the age and personal traits of
the child.