Poster #78 - Family Child Care: Characteristics, Relationships and Parent Outcomes

• In Event: Poster Session 03

Abstract

Qualitative studies consistently emphasize the close relationship between parents and providers form as a unique feature of family child care (FCC) arrangements that is often missed in quality improvement initiatives (Ang et al., 2017; Hooper et al., 2019). FCC providers often take on multiple roles that go above and beyond typical caregiving practices, such as helping parents navigate educational, employment, and financial difficulties (Bromer et al., 2021). Strong parent-provider relationships may be a critical conduit to support positive parent outcomes (Blasberg et al., 2019; Forry et al., 2012). FCC providers may be uniquely situated as important sources of social support in parents lives that can promote their well-being. However, little is known about how these constructs operate in FCC settings. The purpose of this study was to explore how the quality of parents’ relationships with their children’s FCC providers relate to parental involvement and well-being.
Data were collected from 90 parents with a child between 6-36 months of age enrolled in 90 distinct FCC homes (i.e., each parent was recruited from a separate FCC setting). Demographic information for parents can be found in Table 1. Virtual interviews with parents included measures to assess: 1) parent’s engagement and involvement in their children’s FCC home and learning; 2) parents’ depressive symptomatology (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale; Radloff, 1977); 3) parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index-Short Form; Abidin, 1995); and 4) parents’ perspectives of their interactions and quality of the relationship with their FCC providers (The Family and Provider/Teacher Relationship Quality – Parent Measure; Kim et al., 2015).
A series of regression analyses revealed that when controlling for parents’ age, and race/ethnicity, as well as children’s age and developmental need, parents’ report of the practices their FCC providers maintain were positively associated with their engagement in their children’s care and learning and their participation in FCC activities (β=0.60, p< .001). Parents who reported higher levels of collaboration, responsiveness, and communication with their FCC providers, indicated more engagement in children’s education and higher rates of participation in FCC activities. Further, parents’ perception of the overall parent-provider relationship was strongly predictive of parents’ well-being. Specifically, parents who reported having better relationship quality with their FCC providers conveyed significantly fewer depressive symptoms (β= -0.28, p< .001) and lower levels of parenting stress (β= -0.37, p< .001).
This study suggests that promoting strong, high-quality relationships between parents and FCC providers can support parental well-being and improve family engagement, reinforcing the need for professional development activities that directly focus on building high-quality relationships between FCC providers and parents. FCC offers unique features, such as closer parent-provider relationships, that must be examined to successfully promote high-quality care in FCC homes and inform the early childhood field about mechanisms that support positive outcomes in families of children enrolled in family child care programs.

Author

• Laura Jimenez Parra, University of Maryland - College Park
  Presenting Author