Early Full-Time Day Care, Mother-Child Attachment, and Quality of the Home Environment in Chile: Preliminary Findings
van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.
- 1
- 2Leiden University - Excl LUMC
Journal
Early Education and Development
ISSN
1040-9289
1556-6935
Open Access
closed
Volume
27
Start page
457
End page
477
Research Findings: Two longitudinal studies are reported examining the effects of full-time day care in Mapuche and non-Mapuche families in Chile. First, the Magellan-Leiden Childcare Study (MLCS) used a sample of 95 mothers with children younger than 1year old (n=36 in day care). Second, we partially cross-validated our results in a large and representative sample of 10,723 mothers and their children from the Chilean Encuesta Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia (Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey). In both studies, the quality of care for children provided at home was measured with the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment. In the MLCS study, additional indicators of the mother-child relationship were measured. Day care was not negatively associated with the mother-child relationship and maternal sensitivity, compared to maternal care, or with the quality of the home environment. Positive changes in attachment security were found in Mapuche children who attended day care centers. Practice or Policy: We were able to confirm that type of care was not differentially associated with quality of the home environment.