Infant day care and children's social competence

Abstract

Although children enrolled in infant day care during their first year have sometimes been characterized as aggressive with their peers and more noncompliant with adults, they have been characterized as more sociable with their peers as well. Few studies have examined individual differences in day care children's social competence nor have studies examined multiple influences on the nature of toddlers' social interactions in day care. In this investigation, socioeconomic status, family relations, temperament, and day care quantity and quality were examined as predictors of toddlers' social interactions using a sample of 36 children who had been enrolled in either a high- or low-quality day care center sometime during their first year. Quality of care served as a compensatory factor in decreasing the likelihood of social difficulties for temperamentally vulnerable children. Multiple-regression models revealed that day care quality was a consistent predictor of children's nonsocial play and positive interactions with caregivers, whereas day care experience was not.