Developmental Psychology - Early Social Development Attachment Explanations of attachment, including learning theory, and evolutionary perspective, including Bowlby Types of attachment, including insecure and secure attachment and studies by Ainsworth Cultural variations in attachment Disruption of attachment, failure to form attachment (privation) and the effects of institutionalisation Attachment in everyday life The impact of different forms of day care on children’s social development, including the effects on aggression and peer relations Implications of research into attachment and day care for child care practices

The effect of day-care on children’s social development LO: To describe the effects of day-care on children’s social development – - Peer relations - Aggression To evaluate and discuss the implications of research in this field

Social development is important for a child’s relationships. We need to look at how day care impacts on two aspects of social development: Peer relations Aggression

Shea (1981) What was done: Shea video-taped 3- and 4-year old children at playtime during their first 10 weeks at nursery school. What was found: Children became more sociable the longer they were in day care. They stood closer together and engaged in more rough-and-tumble play, and moved further away from teachers. Conclusion : Being in day care helps social development and improves peer relations. Evaluation : A well-structured observation, looking at measurable behaviour (distance, frequency of interaction…). Findings supported by other studies, such as Clarke-Stewart (1994), Andersson (1989, 1992), and the EPPE project

Clarke-Stewart (1994) What was done: Studied 150 children attending school for the first time. They had experienced different forms of day care. What was found: Children who had attended nurseries could cope better in social situations, and were able to interact better with peers, compared with children previously looked after in family settings. Conclusion : Being in day care helps social development and improves peer relations. Evaluation : A relatively small study, with just 150 participants. This means we can generalise findings, but with caution.

Andersson (1989, 1992) What was done: Studied the social and cognitive progress of children attending Swedish day care. What was found: Children who attended day care were able to get along with other children better, were more sociable and outgoing, and had better abilities to play with their peers than children who did not attend day care. Conclusion : Being in day care helps social development and improves peer relations. Evaluation : Swedish day care is particularly good quality. However, findings are supported by other studies, such as Shea (1981), Clarke-Stewart (1994) and the EPPE project

EPPE project What was done: Studied over 3000 children in UK, between 3 and 7 years old. What was found: Children who attended day care showed increased independence and peer sociability at 5 years. This study also found that an early start in day care (between 2 and 3 years) was also linked with being more sociable with other children. Conclusion : Being in day care helps social development and improves peer relations. Evaluation : A large sample size means that findings can be generalised with relative confidence, at least to other UK children.

DiLalla (1988) What was done: Carried out a correlational study into time spent in day care and pro-social behaviour. What was found: DiLalla found a negative correlation between the amount of time spent in day care and pro-social behaviour: children who spent more time in day care were less cooperative and helpful in their dealings with other children. Conclusion : Day care can harm peer relations. Evaluation : Useful evaluative point for contrasting with studies which found a more positive outcome.

Campbell et al (2000) Participants: Children in Sweden who attended childcare from age 18 months to 3½ years. 9 children: attended family-based care, e.g. childminder 30 children: attended nursery 9 children: switched from family-based to nursery care during the study Control group: children whose parents applied for day care places but failed to get them due to competition A G E 1½ yrs 2½ yrs 3½ yrs 6½ yrs 8½ yrs 15 yrs Start day care Observed in own homes playing with familiar peers Observed in day care to assess social skills Assessed again, in the same way as at 18 months Social competence assessed by asking care provider to describe child’s social skills Class teachers asked for their perceptions of child’s social behaviour Children seen in their own home, asked to complete two questionnaires to assess their social competence Assessing all children at age 18 months, BEFORE and IMMEDIATELY they entered day care, gave a BASE LINE measurement to compare them against one another, and to compare their own later progress

Campbell et al (2000) - Findings: Campbell’s findings suggest that the impact of day care can be positive or negative depending on the child’s age, on how long they spend in day care, and on the quality of day care. They also show how important the first 3½ years of life are to later social competence. 1. The effect of time spent in day care: Children who spent long days in day care (e.g. from 8am to 6pm) under age 3½ were less socially competent. Children who spent more days in day care, but shorter days, were more socially competent. COMMENT: Small children spending a lot of time in day care might become tired and frustrated, leading to more negative interactions with other children. 2. The effect of quality of day care: Children who attended high quality day care before age 3½ developed better social abilities. 3. The impact of day care in early years on later social abilities: Social competence is stable between ages 3½ and 15. COMMENT: This implies that children’s social skills have largely developed by around age 3½, then remain constant through childhood and into adolescence. Therefore good quality day care up to age 3½ is essential for development of socially skilled children and teenagers.

Day care helps children form good peer relations Day care harms peer relations Shea (nursery playground)DiLalla (correlation – day care and pro-social behaviour Clarke-Stewart (starting school) Andersson (Swedish day care) Campbell (Swedish longitudinal study – age, time, quality, early childhood to teenage) EPPE project (UK longitudinal study) You need to be able to summarise the research findings on daycare and peer relations. You also need to be able to outline the research and evaluate it, in case an extended writing question is set. You don’t really need all four studies showing that daycare aids peer relations – but if you choose to learn less make sure they have good evaluative points. You need to be able to suggest the implications of this research for day-care practices… Using the table on the slide, outline one implication (how it can be used to inform) of each piece of research for day- care practices. You need to be able to suggest the implications of this research for day-care practices… Using the table on the slide, outline one implication (how it can be used to inform) of each piece of research for day- care practices.

NICHD Study (1991) What was done: Over 1000 American children from families with very different backgrounds were screened in a longitudinal study. What was found: At age 5, the study found that the more time a child spent in day care – no matter what kind or quality of day care – the more they were rated as disobedient and aggressive. Children in full time day care were almost 3 times more likely to show behavioural problems than those cared for at home – behaviour problems included arguing, temper tantrums, lying, and hitting. Conclusion : There is a positive correlation between time spent in day care and amount of aggressive behaviour, therefore this suggests that day care and aggressiveness are linked. Evaluation : A correlation doesn’t necessarily show that day care caused aggression – there may be an unknown factor which affected both these sets of data. Also, results may have been reported in a way that makes the outcome seem magnified. There was a slight negative correlation, but 83% of children spending between 10 and 30 hrs per week in day care showed no increase in aggression. Findings, ctd: Belsky (2007) analysed data from the study as children neared the end of their primary education – he still found a link between day care and increased aggressiveness.

EPPE project (1991) What was done: Studied over 3000 children in UK, between 3 and 7 years old. What was found: Sammons et al (2003) analysed data and showed that there is a slight risk of antisocial behaviour when children spend more than 20 hours per week in nurseries. This risk increases noticeably when they spend more than 40 hours a week in care. Melhuish (2004) noticed increased aggression amongst children whose carers are constantly changing. Conclusion : Day care can increase anti- social and aggressive behaviour. The longer young children spend in day care, particularly nursery care or a care environment where they lack a constant care figure, the more pronounced the aggressive behaviour is. Evaluation : Supported by the US NICHD study, which also found increased aggression among children in day care.

Baker et al (2005) What was done: Following introduction of day care for all in Quebec, the proportion of 0 to 4 year olds in day care rose by 14%, and the number of married women returning to work also increased. Baker et al analysed data on 33,000 children of two-parent families. What was found: In the period after day care became widely available, aggression among 2 to 4 year olds increased by 24% in Quebec, compared to 1% in the rest of Canada. The wellbeing of parents also declined, with a greater incidence of hostile parenting and dissatisfaction with spouses. Conclusion : Day care can increase aggressive behaviour. Evaluation : Relations between parents, and parents’ attitudes, also changed. This means that it is difficult to know whether the day care itself directly caused aggressiveness in the children, or whether this was at least partly caused by the different adult behaviours at home.

Shea et al (1981) What was done: Shea video- taped 3- and 4-year old children at playtime during their first 10 weeks at nursery school. What was found: Children became more sociable the longer they were at nursery. The amount of aggressive behaviour towards one another decreased. These changes were greater in children attending for 5 days a week, compared to those attending for just 2 days a week. Conclusion : Day care can increase sociability and decrease aggressive behaviour. Evaluation : The fact that aggression reduced more in children attending for 5 days a week rather than 2 days a week, suggests that it was the day care that caused this effect rather than just the children maturing.

ALSPAC ( ) What was done: The progress of 14,000 children born in the UK between 1991 and 1992 was followed. What was found: No negative effects of day care, including no evidence of increased anti-social behaviour or aggression. Conclusion : Day care may not increase aggressive behaviour between children. Evaluation : This was a large-scale study, and therefore the findings can be generalised with caution to other children, at least in the UK.

Day care may cause aggressive behaviour Day care doesn’t cause aggressive behaviour NHCID (1000 American children) Shea (nursery playground) EPPE project (3000 UK children) Baker et al (day care in Quebec) ALSPAC (14,000 UK children) EPPE project (UK longitudinal study) You need to be able to summarise the research findings on daycare and aggression. You also need to be able to outline the research and evaluate it, in case an extended writing question is set. You don’t really need all four studies showing that daycare is linked to aggressive behaviour – but if you choose to learn less make sure they have good evaluative points. You need to be able to suggest the implications of this research for day-care practices… Using the table, outline one implication (how it can be used to inform) of each piece of research for day-care practices. You need to be able to suggest the implications of this research for day-care practices… Using the table, outline one implication (how it can be used to inform) of each piece of research for day-care practices.

What are these questions asking you to do? Create a skeleton plan for each one, in bullet-point form… Outline what psychologists have found about the effect of day care on peer relations. (6 marks) Outline what psychologists have found about the effect of day care on aggressive behaviour. (6 marks) Outline and evaluate research into the effect of day care on children’s social behaviour (aggression and/or peer relations). (12 marks)

What are these questions asking you to do? Create a skeleton plan for each one, in bullet-point form… Outline and evaluate research into the effect of day care on children’s social behaviour (aggression and/or peer relations). (12 marks)