DAY-CARE PARTICIPATION AS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR IN THE COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENT OF LOW-INCOME CHILDREN

The impact of day-care participation during the first 3 years of life on the cognitive functioning of school age children was examined. 867 5- and 6-year-old children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Yo uth who completed the 1986 assessment were included in the sample. The dependent measures were scores on the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) subtests of mathematics and reading recognition. In additi on to daycare participation, the impact of the pattern of day-care was examined by analyzing the effect of the number of years in day-care, the timing of initiation of day-care, and type of day-care arrangement . After controlling for confounding factors, there were significant in teractions between all 3 measures of day-care patterning and family in come for reading recognition performance. This association was further examined by exploring the interaction between the pattern of day-care participation and the quality of the home environment. Initiation of day-care attendance before the first birthday was associated with high er reading recognition scores for children from impoverished home envi ronments and with lower scores for children from more optimal environm ents. In addition, a significant interaction between the type of day-c are arrangement and the quality of the home environment emerged for ma thematics performance. Center-based care in particular was associated with higher mathematics scores for impoverished children and with lowe r mathematics scores for children from more stimulating home environme nts. These findings are discussed in the context of developmental risk .