Investigating Child Care as a Protective Factor for Children of Adolescent Mothers

• In Event: 1-049 - Non-Parental Child Care: An International Perspective on Patterns of Choice and Methods for Analyses

Integrative Statement

Children in the United States spend a considerable amount of time in child care settings. Every week, nearly 11 million children younger than age five spend over 35 hours per week in nonparental child care (Child Care Aware of America, 2016). As a substantial number of children continue to be placed in nonparental child care, it has become increasingly important to further investigate the types of child care that families are using over time and the influence of children’s early experiences in these settings on their development. Research investigating the impact of early child care on development suggests that for children living in challenging contexts (e.g., children from low-income families), nonparental child care can promote positive development and serve as a barrier against risks that adversely influence developmental trajectories. There has been limited empirical examination of child care utilization in other populations of children that are at increased risk for medical, psychological, developmental, and social problems, particularly children born to adolescent mothers. Further, there is a dearth of research exploring associations between grandparent care and children’s developmental functioning, despite the fact that grandparent care is a predominant form of nonparental child care utilized in the United States (e.g., Posadas & Vidal-Fernández, 2013). In the present study, we investigated patterns of child care use over time and associations between these patterns and children’s socioemotional and cognitive outcomes in early childhood in a sample of adolescent mothers and their children.

The sample was 704 mothers (Mage = 18 at childbirth) and their children (Mage = 12 months-6 years) enrolled in an evaluation of a home visiting program for young parents (< 21 years). Data were collected in 6 waves from infancy to early childhood (7 years). Thirty-seven percent of mothers self-identified as non-Hispanic White, 19% non-Hispanic Black, 8% non-Hispanic other, 36% Hispanic. Interviews and standardized questionnaires were used to assess: (a) type and extent of child care used; (b) child executive function (EF) (Corsi block-tapping task, Corsi, 1972; Digit span (DS) task, Levine, 1984; and Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) task, Ponitz et al., 2008); and (c) School readiness (Bracken School Readiness Assessment, 3rd Edition (BSRA-3), Bracken, 2007).

Using Repeated Measures Latent Class Analysis (RMLCA) with full information maximum likelihood (FIML, Muthén & Muthén, 2010) we identified a three-class solution showing three main patterns of child care use over time: (1) low early child care use; (2) organized group care plus grandparent care; and (3) organized group care only (Figure 1). Mean differences in EF and school readiness across the classes (one-step Bolck–Croon–Hagenaars (BCH) method) showed that higher school readiness was associated with organized group care in addition to grandparent care over time compared to the sole use of organized group care (Figure 2). These findings have important program and policy implications highlighting the benefits of grandparent care in conjunction with organized group care, the importance of creating a multigenerational approach to early education, and of promoting high quality and increased access to child care for children living in challenging contexts.

Authors

• Rachel C. Katz, SRCD Post-doctoral State Policy Fellow, Division of Early Intervention, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Tufts University
  Presenting Author

• Ann Easterbrooks, Tufts University
  Non-Presenting Author