Early Child Care and Illness among Preschoolers

The majority of young American children regularly spend time in nonparental care settings. Such arrangements are associated with their experiences of common childhood illnesses. Why this linkage exists, how it varies across the socioeconomic spectrum, and whether it has implications for how parents...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health and social behavior 2013-09, Vol.54 (3), p.315-334
Main Authors: Augustine, Jennifer March, Crosnoe, Robert L., Gordon, Rachel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent Development
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child and Adolescent Health and Well-Being
Child Care
Child Care Centers
Child Care Services
Child development
Child Health
Child, Preschool
Childbirth
Childhood Factors
Children
Children & youth
Day care
Day care centers
Developmental psychology
Disease Reservoirs
Diseases
Families & family life
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Health Care Services
Health Status
Human development
Humans
Illness
Illnesses
Infections
Male
Medical research
Models, Theoretical
Mothers
Parents
Peers
Preschool Children
Primary Health Care
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Qualitative Research
Social behavior
Social Class
Social development
Studies
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Summary:The majority of young American children regularly spend time in nonparental care settings. Such arrangements are associated with their experiences of common childhood illnesses. Why this linkage exists, how it varies across the socioeconomic spectrum, and whether it has implications for how parents arrange care are all important theoretical and policy issues. In this study, therefore, we applied a fixed-effects design within structural equation modeling to data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 1,364). Results revealed that children were sick more often when cared for in a center and had more peer exposure in their primary care settings, although this latter association was observed only among children of the least educated mothers. Net of such factors, children in multiple arrangements did not experience more illness, but illnesses tended to decrease subsequent peer exposure as parents changed children's care arrangements.
ISSN:0022-1465
2150-6000
DOI:10.1177/0022146513496106