This research study is designed to explore the latent effects of different kinds of care in infancy on children's mental and social performance at the preschool level and when the children are finishing their year as first graders. The first-year of school follow-up allows us to compare academic achievement with earlier cognitive status, and to compare children's social behaviors at two points in time straddling entrance to school. This study is the first in a series of investigations preliminary to a large-scale endeavor aimed to document the effects of varied rearing conditions in the lint year of life on children's activities and competencies at preschool age and as first graders. Data are being gathered on a homogeneous, low-risk population and include measures of cognitive, social, and behavioral development.
