Promoting better functioning among children exposed to high levels of family adversity: the protective role of childcare attendance

On executive functioning and childcare: The moderating role of parent-child interactions

Childcare services are widely used by families and thereby exert an important influence on many young children. Yet, little research has examined whether childcare may impact the development of child executive functioning (EF), one of the pillars of cognitive development in early childhood. Furthermore, despite persisting hypotheses that childcare may be particularly beneficial for children who have less access to optimal developmental resources at home, research has yet to address the possibility that putative associations between childcare and EF may vary as a function of family factors. Among a sample of 180 mostly White middle-class families (91 girls), we examined if childcare participation in infancy was related to two aspects of EF (Delay and Conflict) at 3 years, and whether two aspects of maternal parenting behavior (sensitivity and autonomy support) moderated these associations. The results showed positive associations between participation in group-based childcare and Delay EF specifically among children of relatively less autonomy-supportive mothers. These findings suggest that out-of-home childcare services may play a protective role for children exposed to parenting that is less conducive to their executive development. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Little research has considered effects of childcare in infancy on executive functioning (EF). Long-standing hypothesis that childcare is more beneficial for children exposed to less sensitive and supportive parenting. We test interactions between maternal parenting and childcare participation in infancy in relation to EF at age 3 years. We find positive associations between participation in group-based childcare and Delay EF specifically among children of relatively less autonomy-supportive mothers.

Revisiting the childcare-attachment question: under what conditions is childcare participation associated with mother-child attachment security?

Decades have passed since the controversy regarding the putative risks of childcare for mother-child attachment broke out. Yet, some uncertainty remains, as relevant studies have produced inconsistent evidence. Some have proposed that those conflicting findings may be due to the fact that the effects of childcare are conditioned on parenting. Accordingly, this study examined whether relations between childcare participation and mother-child attachment vary according to maternal sensitivity and autonomy support. In this sample of 236 mother-child dyads, there was no indication of main effects of childcare participation on attachment. There were, however, some interactive effects, such that the children who showed the least secure attachment behaviors were those who did not attend childcare and had either less sensitive or less autonomy-supportive mothers. The findings suggest that the effects of childcare on mother-child attachment are best understood in light of the parenting children receive at home.

Family Functioning in the Time of COVID-19 Among Economically Vulnerable Families: Risks and Protective Factors

The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has been particularly harmful to economically vulnerable families with young children. We surveyed 247 low-income mothers and fathers from 142 families in the United States about changes in their family life following the economic and social restrictions imposed by the pandemic. We examined the associations between pandemic-related risk factors such as economic stressors (e.g., loss of job) and social stressors (e.g., exposure to the virus) on family functioning (e.g., parents' mental health, parent engagement, and children's socioemotional behaviors) and the degree to which coparenting support and parents' positivity protected families from the negative effects of these stressors on their wellbeing. We found both positive and negative associations. Mothers and fathers who reported more economic stressors since the pandemic also observed that their children behaved more prosocially and that fathers experienced more mental health difficulties during the pandemic. Mothers and fathers who reported more social stressors reported that they were less engaged with their children and their children exhibited more behavior problems compared to before the pandemic. We also found that mothers and fathers who reported feeling more positive also reported feeling less depressed and stressed during the pandemic and observed that their children had more prosocial behaviors compared to before the pandemic. Compared to before the pandemic, mothers and fathers who reported a more supportive coparenting relationship also reported more parent engagement and observed more prosocial behaviors in their children. In terms of protective factors, high levels of parent positivity during the pandemic protected mothers (less mental health difficulties) whereas high levels of coparenting support protected fathers (less mental health difficulties) from the negative effects of economic stress on their mental health during the pandemic. These findings highlight family processes that could promote resilience in mothers and fathers in the face of pandemic-related economic and social stressors.

Cortisol Reactivity as a Mediator of Peer Victimization on Child Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: The Role of Gender Differences

Children exposed to peer victimization are at increased risk for psychopathology. However, the physiological mechanisms linking peer victimization to child psychopathology and the potential gender differences in these links remain inadequately understood. The present study examined whether cortisol reactivity to acute stress mediated the associations between relational and physical victimization and internalizing and externalizing problems and whether these associations differed between boys and girls. A sample of 150 Chinese children (aged 9-13 years; M_age = 10.69 years; 51% boys) reported experiences of relational and physical victimization and participated in a standardized laboratory psychosocial stress task, during which six salivary cortisol samples were collected. Parents or primary caregivers reported their children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Overall, neither physical nor relational victimization was associated with cortisol reactivity. However, when examined separately by gender, relational victimization was associated with blunted cortisol reactivity for boys but not for girls. Further, among boys but not girls, relational victimization was indirectly associated with internalizing and externalizing problems via blunted cortisol reactivity. Our findings suggest that blunted cortisol reactivity may serve as a physiological pathway linking peer victimization to psychopathology for boys but not for girls.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) during COVID-19 boosts growth in language and executive function

High‐quality, centre‐based education and care during the early years benefit cognitive development, especially in children from disadvantaged backgrounds. During the COVID‐19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns, access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) was disrupted. We investigate how this period affected the developmental advantages typically offered by ECEC. Using parent‐report data from 189 families living in the UK, we explore associations between time spent in ECEC by 8‐to‐36‐month‐olds, their socioeconomic background, and their growth in language and executive functions between Spring and Winter 2020. Receptive vocabulary growth was greater in children who continued to attend ECEC during the period, with a stronger positive effect for children from less advantaged backgrounds. The growth of cognitive executive functions (CEFs) was boosted by ECEC attendance during the period, regardless of socioeconomic background. Our findings highlight the importance of high‐quality ECEC for the development of key skills and for levelling socioeconomic inequalities.

Cohort Profile: Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD)

PURPOSE

The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD) was designed to examine the long-term associations of preschool physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development with biopsychosocial development across childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood.

METHODS

QLSCD is an ongoing prospective cohort including 2120 singletons born in 1997/1998 in the Canadian province of Quebec. So far, data have been collected annually or every 2 years from child ages 5 months to 21 years. The cohort currently includes 1245 participants. Data available include a range of environmental (e.g., family characteristics, child behaviour, educational attainment, mental health), biological (e.g., hair cortisol, genetic, epigenetic), and administrative data.

RESULTS

QLSCD has contributed to the understanding of children's psychosocial development, including the development of physical aggression and anxiety. QLSCD articles have advanced scientific knowledge on the influence of early childhood factors on childhood, adolescent, and young adult mental health, including the effect of participation in early childcare on cognitive and behavioural development, the developmental origins of adolescent and young adult mental health problems and suicide risk, and the development of interpersonal difficulties (e.g., peer victimisation) from preschool years to adolescence.

CONCLUSION

QLSCD has given major contributions to our understanding of the link between different aspects of child development and biopsychosocial development during the first two decades of life. Unique features include the presence of environmental, biological, and administrative data, long-term follow-up with frequent data collections, and use of data from multiple informants, including teachers, mothers, fathers, and the children themselves.

The principles of Nurturing Care promote human capital and mitigate adversities from preconception through adolescence

A comprehensive evidence-based framework is needed to guide policies and programmes that enable children and adolescents to accrue the human capital required to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper proposes a comprehensive, multisectoral, multilevel life-course conceptualisation of human capital development by building on the Nurturing Care Framework (NCF), originally developed for the foundational period of growth and development through the age 3 years. Nurturing care (NC) comprises stable environments that promote children's health and nutrition, protect from threats, and provide opportunities for learning and responsive, emotionally supportive and developmentally enriching relationships. NC is fostered by families, communities, services, national policies and beyond. The principles apply across the life course, endorse equity and human rights, and promote long-term human capital. This paper presents an evidence-based argument for the extension of the NCF from preconception through adolescence (0-20 years), organised into six developmental periods: preconception/prenatal, newborn/birth, infancy/toddlerhood, preschool, middle childhood and adolescence. The proposed framework advances human capital within each developmental period by promoting resilience and adaptive developmental trajectories while mitigating negative consequences of adversities.Attaining the SDGs depends on strengthening human capital formation, extending throughout childhood and adolescence and supported by NC. Embedded in enabling laws, policies and services, the dynamic NCF components can mitigate adversities, enhance resilience and promote the well-being of marginalised groups. The life-course extension of the NCF is strategically positioned to enhance human capital, to attain the SDGs and to ensure that children or adolescents are not left behind in reaching their developmental potential.