CHILD-CARE IN THE PRESCHOOL YEARS - ATTACHMENT, BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS ANDCOGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENT

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.