This project involves longitudinal studies being conductedin Goteberg (Sweden) and Berlin (Germany) as well as a series of studies in Berlin. The longitudinal study in Sweden wasdesigned to elucidate the effects of early care arrangementson the develolpment of 145 children recruited in 1982 at anaverage of 16 months of age. Initial analyses indicated thatthe quality of home care and the quality of alternative carehad substantial effects on the children's verbal abilities, socialskills, and personal maturity. At the time of enrollment inelementary school, children who had been in family day carehad poorer cognitive skills and were less mature, wheareas those who had been in center care were superior on both dimensions. The effects of the quality of home and alternative care appeared to diminish as the children moved into the formal educational system, although early childcare experiences prior to age 3 appeared to influence social skills with peers whichremained stable thereafter. The psychological status and educational histories of these children at 15 years of age during their final year of school have been and are currentlybeing assessed, and analysis of these data will begin in FY01.In Berlin, researchers began stuyding the attachments between children and careproviders shortly before political reunificationof the city. Comparative analyses show that infants were more likely to establish secure attachments to their careproviders after reunification than before perhaps because care providers in the laterregime focused on the styles and needs of individual infants. In a subsequently study, researchers observed in detail the everyday experiences of toddlers who either did or did not receive regular out-of-home care. The data showed different diurnal patterns of adult attention, stimulation, and emotional exchange, although the total amount of social interaction experienced over the course of the day did not differ depending on whether or not the toddlers spents time in day care.In the Berlin longitudinal study, researchers are assessing the psychophysiological and behavioral tendencies of infants in order to assess the effects of prior individual differences in emotional reactivity and infant-mother attachment on the adaptation to out-of-home center care. Preliminary analyses indicate that the securely attached infants had slower and more variable heart rates at day care when their mothers were present than insecurely attached infants did. The quality ofinfant-careprovider relations, infant-parent attachment, and infant temperament may all shape adaptation to day care.
| Ahnert, Lieselotte; Gunnar, Megan R; Lamb, Michael E et al. (2004) Transition to child care: associations with infant-mother attachment, infant negative emotion, and cortisol elevations. Child Dev 75:639-50 |
| Ahnert, Lieselotte; Lamb, Michael E (2003) Shared care: establishing a balance between home and child care settings. Child Dev 74:1044-9 |
