Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This important work presents the results of the most comprehensive scientific study to date of early child care and its relation to child development. In one volume, a critical selection of material from the most salient journal articles is brought together with new overviews and a concluding commentary. Provided is a wealth of authoritative information about the ways in which nonmaternal care is linked to health, psychological adjustment, and mother-child bonds in the first six years of life. An essential resource for developmentalists, early child care specialists, and educators, the book offers compelling perspectives on practice, policy, and research.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• I Overview (p. 1)
• 1 Nonmaternal Care and Family Factors in Early Development: An Overview of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (p. 3)
• II Child Care Use and Quality (p. 37)
• 2 Child Care in the First Year of Life (p. 39)
• 3 Characteristics of Infant Child Care: Factors Contributing to Positive Caregiving (p. 50)
• 4 Child Care Characteristics of Infants with and without Special Needs: Comparisons and Concerns (p. 67)
• 5 A New Guide for Evaluating Child Care Quality (p. 78)
• 6 Characteristics and Quality of Child Care for Toddlers and Preschoolers (p. 91)
• III Why Consider Family Effects in a Study of Child Care? (p. 105)
• 7 Familial Factors Associated with the Characteristics of Nonmaternal Care for Infants (p. 109)
• 8 Before Head Start: Income and Ethnicity, Family Characteristics, Child Care Experiences, and Child Development (p. 127)
• 9 Change in Family Income-to-Needs Matters More for Children with Less (p. 140)
• 10 Chronicity of Maternal Depressive Symptoms, Maternal Sensitivity, and Child Functioning at 36 Months (p. 151)
• 11 The Interaction of Child Care and Family Risk in Relation to Child Development at 24 and 36 Months (p. 163)
• IV Child Care and Health (p. 173)
• 12 Child Care and Common Communicable Illnesses (p. 175)
• 13 Child Care and Common Communicable Illnesses in Children Ages 37-54 Months (p. 184)
• V Child Care and Mother-Child Relations (p. 191)
• 14 The Effects of Infant Child Care on Infant-Mother Attachment Security (p. 193)
• 15 Child Care and Family Predictors of Preschool Attachment and Stability from Infancy (p. 208)
• 16 Caregiver-Mother Partnership Behavior and the Quality of Caregiver-Child and Mother-Child Interactions (p. 224)
• 17 Child Care and Mother-Child Interaction in the First 3 Years of Life (p. 231)
• 18 Early Child Care and Mother-Child Interaction from 36 Months through First Grade (p. 246)
• VI Child Care and Psychological Development (p. 259)
• 19 Early Child Care and Self-Control, Compliance, and Problem Behavior at 24 and 36 Months (p. 263)
• 20 Early Child Care and Children's Peer Interaction at 24 and 36 Months (p. 281)
• 21 Does Amount of Time Spent in Child Care Predict Socioemotional Adjustment during the Transition to Kindergarten? (p. 297)
• 22 The Relation of Child Care to Cognitive and Language Development (p. 318)
• 23 Does Quality of Child Care Affect Child Outcomes at Age 41/2? (p. 337)
• 24 Child Outcomes When Child Care Center Classes Meet Recommended Standards for Quality (p. 358)
• 25 Child Care Structure to Process to Outcome: Direct and Indirect Effects of Child Care Quality on Young Children's Development (p. 364)
• 26 Early Child Care and Children's Development Prior to School Entry (p. 376)
• VII Effects of Families on the Development of Children Who Are in Child Care (p. 393)
• 27 Factors Associated with Fathers' Caregiving Activities and Sensitivity with Young Children (p. 395)
• 28 Relations between Family Predictors and Child Outcomes: Are They Weaker for Children in Child Care? (p. 407)
• 29 Families Matter-Even for Kids in Child Care (p. 418)
• VIII Commentary (p. 425)
• 30 Human Developmental Science Serving Children and Families: Contributions of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (p. 427)
• References (p. 437)
• Index (p. 461)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

In 1991, after four years of planning, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health, began to recruit families to participate in a comprehensive study that would address a critical question: what is the impact of early child care on young children's development? That ambitious study is a tremendous accomplishment for the many researchers involved, and the publication of this book, which reports on its first phases, is no less worthy an accomplishment. Though it may not seem speedy to some, disseminating the results of the first phases of the study in a timely, accessible, and concise manner a mere 14 years into the project is a tribute to the researchers. This is the first study of its kind and thus a one-of-a-kind book. Readers will appreciate the efficiency of the single chapter summarizing the design and looking at how the NICHD study differs from, and improves on, prior research. The book's organization not only permits readers to focus on particular aspects of the study they find most interesting but also serves to emphasize one of its major points: the answers to the central question posed are many and complex. The comprehensive reference list is invaluable. ^BSumming Up: Essential. Social sciences collections serving upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. J. F. Heberle Albright College

Author notes provided by Syndetics

The editors of this volume are members of The NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, as of 2004. The Network was established in 1989 and began working on the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Members of the Network have designed, implemented, analyzed, and written about this study as a collective.



Members of The NICHD Early Child Care Research Network in 2004, listed alphabetically, are Virginia Allhusen, PhD, Jay Belsky, PhD, Cathryn Booth-LaForce, PhD, Robert Bradley, PhD, Celia A. Brownell, PhD, Margaret Burchinal, PhD, Susan B. Campbell, PhD, K. Alison Clarke-Stewart, PhD, Martha Cox, PhD, Sarah L. Friedman, PhD, Willard W. Hartup, EdD, Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, PhD, Aletha C. Huston, PhD, Deborah Johnson, PhD, Bonnie Knoke, MS, Nancy Marshall, EdD, Kathleen McCartney, PhD, Frederick J. Morrison, PhD, Philip Nader, MD, Marion O'Brien, PhD, Margaret Tresch Owen, PhD, Ross D. Parke, PhD, Deborah Phillips, PhD, Robert Pianta, PhD, A. Vijaya Rao, PhD, Wendy W. Robeson, EdD, Carolyn Roy, PhD, Susan Spieker, PhD, Deborah Lowe Vandell, PhD, and Marsha Weinraub, PhD.