Abstract
Substantial variation in childcare arrangements exists both within and between populations. Research has suggested negative stress-related outcomes for children who regularly attend daycare facilities. In the present study, 122 cortisol and 94 secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) samples from 32 British children aged between 3 and 8 were analyzed using multilevel modeling to assess effects of daycare attendance and other childcare-related variables on children's stress and SIgA immune function. Parents' reports of children's aggression and family discord within 2 hr of saliva collection were associated with elevated cortisol levels in children. With these acute stressors statistically controlled, retrospective data on parent-child cosleeping showed that children who had coslept in their parent(s) room had lower cortisol levels, as did children who had attended less daycare in the first 4 years of life. The parenting-related variables did not predict SIgA immunity. The results are discussed in the context of theories of parenting strategies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 640-648 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Developmental Psychobiology |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sep 2007 |