Individual differences in effects of child care quality: The role of child affective self-regulation and gender

Martine L Broekhuizen; Marcel A G van Aken; Judith S Dubas; Hanna Mulder; Paul P M Leseman

doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2015.06.009

Individual differences in effects of child care quality: The role of child affective self-regulation and gender

Infant Behav Dev. 2015 Aug:40:216-30. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2015.06.009. Epub 2015 Jul 24.

Authors

Martine L Broekhuizen¹, Marcel A G van Aken², Judith S Dubas³, Hanna Mulder⁴, Paul P M Leseman⁵

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, PO Box 80140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Education and Learning, Utrecht University, PO Box 80140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: m.l.broekhuizen@uu.nl.
² Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, PO Box 80140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: m.a.g.vanaken@uu.nl.
³ Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, PO Box 80140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: j.j.s.dubas@uu.nl.
⁴ Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Education and Learning, Utrecht University, PO Box 80140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: h.mulder2@uu.nl.
⁵ Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Education and Learning, Utrecht University, PO Box 80140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: p.p.m.leseman@uu.nl.

PMID: 26210737
DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2015.06.009

Abstract

The current study investigated whether the relation between child care quality and children's socio-emotional behavior depended on children's affective self-regulation skills and gender. Participants were 545 children (Mage=27 months) from 60 center-based child care centers in the Netherlands. Multi-level analyses showed that children with low affective self-regulation skills or who were male demonstrated less teacher-rated social competence when exposed to relatively low quality child care. In addition, children with low affective self-regulation skills also showed more social competence in the case of relatively high quality child care, suggesting mechanisms of differential susceptibility. No main effects of child care quality or interactions were found for teacher- and parent-rated externalizing behavior. These findings emphasize the importance of considering children's affective self-regulation skills and gender in understanding the effects of child care quality. High quality child care can be a means to strengthen children's social development.

Keywords: Affective self-regulation; Child care quality; Externalizing behavior; Gender; Social competence.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Affect*
Child Behavior / psychology*
Child Care / psychology*
Child Day Care Centers
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Individuality
Male
Models, Psychological
Parents
Sex Characteristics
Social Behavior