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The Black-White achievement gap in children's reading and mathematics school performance from 4.5 years of age through fifth grade was examined in a sample of 314 lower income American youth followed from birth. Differences in family, child care, and schooling experiences largely explained Black-White differences in achievement, and instructional quality was a stronger predictor for Black than White children. In addition, the achievement gap was detected as young as 3 years of age. Taken together, the findings suggest that reducing the Black-White achievement gap may require early intervention to reduce race gaps in home and school experiences during the infant and toddler years as well as during the preschool and school years.

Prior research has documented associations between hours in child care and children's externalizing behavior. A series of longitudinal analyses were conducted to address 5 propositions, each testing the hypothesis that child care hours causes externalizing behavior. Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were used in this investigation because they include repeated measures of child care experiences, externalizing behavior, and family characteristics. There were 3 main findings. First, the evidence linking child care hours with externalizing behavior was equivocal in that results varied across model specifications. Second, the association between child care hours and externalizing behavior was not due to a child effect. Third, child care quality and proportion of time spent with a large group of peers moderated the effects of child care hours on externalizing behavior. The number of hours spent in child care was more strongly related to externalizing behavior when children were in low-quality child care and when children spent a greater proportion of time with a large group of peers. The magnitude of associations between child care hours and externalizing behavior was modest. Implications are that parents and policymakers must take into account that externalizing behavior is predicted from a constellation of variables in multiple contexts. (Contains 7 tables and 3 figures.)

The purpose of the current study was to investigate child and teacher characteristics associated with closeness and conflict in prekindergarten teacher-child relationships. Child gender and temperament were significantly associated with closeness and conflict. Specifically, higher levels of shyness correlated with closer relationships for boys than for girls. Additionally, higher levels of child anger were associated with more conflicted relationships for boys and less conflicted relationships for girls. An association was also found between frequency of teacher-child interactions and relationship conflict. Children who had more interactions with teachers had more conflicted relationships. Implications for teacher education and professional development are discussed. (Contains 4 figures and 5 tables.)

Higher quality child care during infancy and early childhood (6-54 months of age) was examined as a moderator of associations between family economic status and children's (N = 1,364) math and reading achievement in middle childhood (4.5-11 years of age). Low income was less strongly predictive of underachievement for children who had been in higher quality care than for those who had not. Consistent with a cognitive advantage hypothesis, higher quality care appeared to promote achievement indirectly via early school readiness skills. Family characteristics associated with selection into child care also appeared to promote the achievement of low-income children, but the moderating effect of higher quality care per se remained evident when controlling for selection using covariates and propensity scores.

Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the authors investigated whether there was evidence of intraindividual stability in behavior problems over time as well as whether children with higher levels of behavior problems at 24 months and more rapid increases in behavior problems prior to school entry performed more poorly on 1st-grade tests of cognitive ability and achievement than their peers. Three findings were noteworthy. First, there was evidence of both intraindividual and interindividual variability in behavior problems between 24 months and 1st grade. Second, children with higher initial levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviors at 24 months had lower cognitive ability and achievement scores in 1st grade. Finally, children with more rapid increases in internalizing behaviors over time had lower cognitive ability scores in 1st grade; this association did not exist for externalizing behaviors. Implications for future research are discussed.

We examined child, family, and early child care predictors of teacher reports of referral for or placement in special and remedial education for 999 youth. Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and nested multivariate modeling techniques, we found that sociodemographic factors, child cognitive abilities, and child behavior were most strongly associated with special education services. Specifically, lower income, cognitive ability, prosocial ability, and maternal sensitivity (as defined by ratings of mother-child interactions) were all associated with both remedial (e.g., reading assistance) and special education (e.g., part- and full-day resource room) services by second grade. Child birth order and number of measurement times (6, 15, 24, 36, and 54 months) when child was in center care were associated with remedial services only, whereas child gender and parent marital status (never partnered) were associated with special education only. The effects of early identification of learning disabilities are discussed.

Associations between maternal attachment patterns and cognitive skills at first grade were examined, and mediators of identified associations tested using Phase I and II data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Care and Youth Development, a prospective study of 1364 children and families from birth through sixth grade. There were three main findings. First, ambivalent and insecure/other attachment patterns were negative predictors of cognitive skills. Second, the association between ambivalent attachment and cognitive skills was mediated by children's behaviors related to testing. Third, the association between insecure/other attachment and cognitive skills was mediated by children's exploration, maternal instruction, children's social relationships, and children's behaviors related to testing. Implications for attachment theory and education are discussed.

Existing studies of child care have not been able to determine whether higher quality child care protects children from the effects of poverty, whether poverty and lower quality child care operate as dual risk factors, or whether both are true. The objective of the current study was to test two pathways through which child care may serve as a naturally occurring intervention for low-income children: a direct pathway through child care quality to child outcomes, and an indirect pathway through improvements in the home environment. Children were observed in their homes and child care settings at 6, 15, 24, and 36 months. An interaction between family income-to-needs ratio and child care quality predicted School Readiness, Receptive Language, and Expressive Language, as well as improvements in the home environment. Children from low-income families profited from observed learning supports in the form of sensitive care and stimulation of cognitive development, and their parents profited from unobserved informal and formal parent supports. Policy implications are discussed.

The purpose of the present study is to examine associations between quality of teacher-child relationships from preschool through third grade and children's third-grade achievement using Phases I, II, and III data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Care and Education, a prospective study of 1,364 children from birth through sixth grade. There are three main findings. First, positive associations were found between quality of teacher-child relationships and achievement. Second, high quality teacher-child relationships buffered children from the negative effects of insecure or other maternal attachment on achievement. Third, the effect of quality of teacher-child relationships on achievement was mediated through child and teacher behaviors in the classroom. In sum, high quality teacher-child relationships fostered children's achievement. Implications for educational practice are discussed. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)

Within-child associations between family income and child externalizing and internalizing problems were examined using longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (2004a, 2004b; N = 1,132). Variations in income effects were estimated as a function of whether families were poor, whether mothers were partnered, and the number of hours mothers and their partners were employed. On average, children had fewer externalizing problems during times when their families' incomes were relatively high than during times when their families' incomes were relatively low; the estimated benefits of increased income were greatest for children who were chronically poor. For both externalizing and internalizing problems, income was most strongly associated with problems when chronically poor children's mothers were partnered and employed.

The current study was conducted to examine associations between children's maternal attachments and the quality of their relationships with teachers at 3 time points. The quality of the teacher-child relationship at 54 months, kindergarten, and 1st grade was regressed on blocks of predictors that included maternal attachment at 15, 24, and 36 months. There were 4 main findings. First, insecure/other attachment was a negative predictor of the quality of the teacher-child relationship at all 3 time points. Second, avoidant attachment was a negative predictor of the quality of the teacher-child relationship at 54 months. Third, in kindergarten, avoidant children in more hours of school had better quality relationships with teachers than avoidant children in fewer hours. Fourth, there were associations among the quality of the teacher-child relationship at all 3 time points. Implications for practice are discussed.

Longitudinal data for 167 low-income children were analyzed to examine associations between family educational involvement during kindergarten, children's feelings about literacy, and children's literacy achievement from kindergarten through fifth grade. The promotive effect of family educational involvement for feelings about literacy and literacy achievement was moderated by maternal education such that involvement was more positively associated with literacy outcomes for children whose mothers were less educated compared with children whose mothers were more educated. In addition, children's feelings about literacy mediated associations between family educational involvement and literacy achievement. Implications for intervention efforts are discussed.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to test a maternal attachment model of behavior problems in early childhood using phase I data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, a prospective study of 1,364 children from birth through sixth grade. Methods: Mothers' and caregivers' ratings of children's internalizing and externalizing problems at age three were regressed separately on a set of fifteen predictors that included security and disorganization scores from 15, 24, and 36 months using hierarchical and logistical modeling. Results: There were three main findings. First, Q-set mother-child attachment security, based on home observations at 24 months, provided the best evidence that attachment was associated with behavior problems, especially above-average levels of problems. Second, insecurity in the 36-month modified Strange Situation predicted mothers' and caregivers' ratings of internalizing problems for boys and girls as well as their ratings of externalizing problems for boys. Third, maternal depressive symptoms predicted mothers' ratings of internalizing and externalizing problems. Conclusions: There are meaningful associations between attachment insecurity and behavior problems as assessed not only by mothers but also by caregivers.

Used data from NICHD Study of Early Child Care to assess whether regulable features of child care homes affected children's development. Found caregivers' education and recency of training related to learning environment and caregiving sensitivity. More positive caregiving related to compliance with age-weighted group-size cut-offs. Caregiver education/training level related to child performance on tests of cognitive and language development. (Author/KB)

Analyzed data from study of typical center-based child care and children's development in three states. Found confirmation of prior evidence regarding importance of ratios, teacher training, and group size for high quality classroom practices; also demonstrated more significant contribution of teacher wages and parent fees. Quality varied with center's location in states with more or less stringent child care regulations. (Author/KB)

After-school settings and activities for 206 urban children, grades one through four were examined, and associations with behavioral adjustment noted. Found that effects of activities on externalizing and internalizing behaviors were more pronounced in lower income children than in those from middle and upper income backgrounds. Peer interaction in after-school programs appeared to benefit internalizing. (MT)

Child care centers representing four auspices (non profit, local for profit, national chain for profit, and church sponsored) were examined for associations between quality and social outcomes. Non profits had higher social outcomes, teacher child interaction produced no difference, and higher work-family interference was associated with lower social outcomes. (MT)

Examines parallels in the study of child-care effects and the study of school effects. Finds striking similarities in the methodological and conceptual advances in both areas. Argues that child-care researchers and school-effects researchers would benefit by monitoring progress in one another's fields. (FMW)

Data from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a stratified random sample of 1,364 children and their families from birth through first grade, were used to examine whether mothers' use of early childcare for their children predicted later maternal employment. Children's total number of hours in childcare was associated with higher maternal wages and more hours of employment when children were in first grade. The association between maternal hourly wages and hours in childcare was greater for mothers who were more educated. In addition, the effect of hours in childcare on employment hours was greater for non-poor mothers.

Objectives. We examined within-person associations between changes in family income and women's depressive symptoms during the first 3 years after childbirth. Methods. Data were analyzed for 1351 women (mean baseline age=28.13 years) who participated in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. Nineteen percent of these women belonged to an ethnic minority, and 35% were poor at some time during the study. Results. Changes in income and poverty status were significantly associated with changes in depressive symptoms. Effects were greatest for chronically poor women and for women who perceived fewer costs associated with their employment. Conclusions. Given that women head most poor households in the United States, our findings indicate that reductions in poverty would have mental health benefits for women and families.

A study of 589 married couples reveals that parents suffered similar levels of separation anxiety, but fathers worried more about separation from their children during work hours, while mothers were prone to professional anxiety. Self-reported separation anxiety was similar for both genders, but fathers' perceptions of their spouse's fears of separation from their children strongly affected paternal separation anxiety.

The US government needs to improve its family policy. Many industrialized countries have a parental leave program for parents of newborn infants. George Bush vetoed a program for unpaid parental leave in 1990 with the support of many members of the business community. US family policy does not support mothers in the work place and does not encourage fathers to participate in the care of their children. Families with children receive certain tax benefits, but these have decreased since the 1950s. US parents pay over 90% of the costs associated with child care, compared with 5% to 15% paid by European parents. The US does not have a policy supporting publicly funded child care. The quality of care provided by some centers is low, and state regulations governing child care centers are often poorly enforced. More money is needed from the government to improve the quality of child care in the US.