Effects of Day Care on Elementary School Performance and Adjustment.

This longitudinal study examined the experiences of out-of-home preschool child care to performance and adjustment in elementary school. Subjects were 145 children in Goteborg, Sweden, who were on average 16 months of age when they were enrolled in this study. Within 4 weeks of enrollment in the study, 54 children began center-based day care, 36 began family-based day care, and 55 remained in the care of their parents. Children's verbal abilities were assessed using the Griffiths developmental scale, and Caldwell's home inventory for measurement of the environment (HOME) was completed when children were 40 months old. Home and school visits were conducted again prior to enrollment in elementary school and in second grade. Objective tests of intellectual performance were administered, maternal and teacher ratings of children's adjustment were collected, and the HOME inventory was completed again. Results revealed no significant differences between children with different child care histories. Intellectual performance and ratings of adjustment were instead related to earlier measures of cognitive abilities, HOME inventory scores, and gender. (MM)