Children's wellbeing and cortisol levels in home-based and center-based childcare

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.12.004

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Volume 25, Issue 4, 4th Quarter 2010, Pages 502-514

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.12.004 Get rights and content

Abstract

The central question in this study is whether individual variability in children's cortisol levels and wellbeing at childcare can be explained by indices of quality of care and child characteristics. Participants were 71 children from childcare homes and 45 children from childcare centers in the age range of 20–40 months. In both types of settings equivalent measures and procedures were used. In home-based childcare, children experienced higher caregiver sensitivity, lower noise levels, and showed higher wellbeing compared to children in childcare centers. Caregiver sensitivity in home-based childcare – but not in center care – was positively associated with children's wellbeing. Additionally, children displayed higher cortisol levels at childcare than at home, irrespective of type of care. In home-based childcare, lower caregiver sensitivity was associated with higher total production of salivary cortisol during the day. In center-based childcare, lower global quality of care was associated with a rise in cortisol between 11 AM and 3 PM during the day. Quality of care is an important factor in young children's wellbeing and HPA stress reactivity.

Section snippets

Childcare quality

Although cortisol levels have been reported to increase in childcare, we do not know yet what the underlying mechanisms are for these elevated cortisol levels. It is assumed that both childcare quality and child characteristics may contribute to individual differences in children's cortisol levels. As for childcare quality, structural features of childcare are assumed to influence children's cortisol levels and wellbeing. Legendre (2003) for instance showed that cortisol increases were related

Noise as indicator of process quality?

We propose to consider noise – an important aspect of environmental chaos theory – to be an indicator of process quality in childcare. Environmental chaos theory (Evans et al., 1999, Wachs, 1989) was originally developed for home settings. Chaotic environments are characterized by high levels of noise, crowding, environmental traffic, and a lack of physical and temporal structure (Wachs, Gurkas, & Kontos, 2004).

For home settings, it has been demonstrated that environmental chaos is associated

Child characteristics

It is important to bear in mind the child characteristics (e.g., age, gender) that might affect wellbeing and cortisol levels of children in childcare. De Schipper, Tavecchio, Van IJzendoorn, and Van Zeijl (2004) reported no gender or age differences in children's wellbeing in childcare centers. Two meta-analyses (Geoffroy et al., 2006, Vermeer and Van IJzendoorn, 2006) showed that the effect of day care attendance on cortisol excretion was especially notable in children younger than 36 months

Aims of this study

In this study, we (1) compared children's cortisol levels during a childcare day (home-based care versus center-based care) and during a day at home, (2) examined differences in children's wellbeing and cortisol in home-based childcare versus center-based childcare, and (3) investigated which quality of care indices and child characteristics were associated with children's wellbeing and cortisol levels.

Derived from the meta-analytic results reported earlier, we expect higher cortisol during a

Participants

A total of 116 children and 102 caregivers participated in this study. Twenty-six childcare centers and 55 childcare homes were involved. Similar recruitment strategies were used in both childcare settings.

From a national sample, 250 childcare centers were randomly selected. Twenty-six centers agreed to participate in the study. Parents of one randomly selected group per childcare center were approached for permission, and depending on their response, one to four children per center were

Cortisol

In Table 2, children's (untransformed) cortisol levels during the childcare day and during the day at home are shown. Analyses of children's cortisol levels at home and on a childcare day were performed using a 2 (Context: home versus childcare) by 4 (Time of day) by 2 (Type of care: childcare home versus center) multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures. There was a significant main effect of time of day, demonstrating declining cortisol levels throughout the day (Pillais F (3,

Discussion

We found that children displayed higher cortisol levels during a childcare day than during a day at home. Children's cortisol levels in home-based childcare and center-based childcare were similar. However, the following differences were found in favour of home-based childcare: (1) Children in home-based childcare appeared to feel more at ease than children in center-based childcare, (2) Caregiver sensitivity was higher in home-based childcare than in center-based childcare, and (3) Noise

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the caregivers, parents, and children who participated in our study as well as the students who assisted in the various phases of the studies. Marinus H. van IJzendoorn was supported by the SPINOZA prize from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.

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Children's wellbeing and cortisol levels in home-based and center-based childcare

Abstract

Section snippets

Childcare quality

Noise as indicator of process quality?

Child characteristics

Aims of this study

Participants

Cortisol

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Early Childhood Research Quality

Trends in Neuroscience

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Journal of Immunological Methods

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Journal of Environmental Psychology

Applied Developmental Psychology

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Infant-mother attachment and social development: Socialisation as a product of reciprocal responsiveness to signals

Home observation for measurement of the environment: Administration manual

What we know about childcare

Does parental mood or efficacy mediate the influence of environmental chaos upon parenting behavior?

Merrill-Palmer Quarterly

De nationale studie pedagogische kwaliteit kinderopvang: Eindrapport project 0 en 1

Stability in center day care: Relations with children's well-being and problem behavior in day care

Social Development

The hippocampus: What does it do?

Behavioral Neural Biology

Chronic noise and physiological response: A prospective, longitudinal study

Psychological Science