Mediation or moderation? Mechanisms through which childcare quantity; type and quality influence children's externalizing and internalizing behaviours.

Résumé 0

The objective of this study was to examine how childcare quantity, type, and quality are related in predicting externalising and internalising behaviours of 36-month-old children attending childcare from infancy. The association between childcare attendance and children’s behavioural difficulties appears to be better understood when taking into account childcare quantity, type, and structural and process quality (e.g. Jacob, 2009). However few studies have considered dynamic relationships between these variables. The ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner 1979, 2005, Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998) nests child development in the centre of a multi-layered ecological system. Based on this, Mashburn and Pianta (2010) have conceptualised how some childcare variables. The sample included 70 children who attended the same childcare service from the age of 10 months. At 24 months-old, data on the childcare quantity, type and quality were collected through questionnaires and observation scales. At 36 months-old, parents completed the Child Behaviours Checklist (Achenbach, 1992). At recruitment, families were informed about the project and standard ethical considerations (confidentiality, voluntary participation risks/benefits, etc.). After that process, parents signed the consent form. The results of this exploratory study confirmed a moderation model. Quantity and type of care were found to moderate the influence of several sub dimensions of process quality on children’s externalising and internalizing behaviours. Our results stress the relevancy of considering each child’s unique childcare experience when adopting practices to support behavioural difficulties.