Personality Development between 1 and 8 Years of Age in Swedish Children with Varying Child Care Experiences

Abstract

In this longitudinal study, 122 Swedish children were followed from an initial assessment at 16 months until they were 8.5 years of age. Parental ratings of field independence, ego-resilience, and ego-control were obtained using the California Child Q-set when the children averaged 28, 40, 80, and 101 months of age. These assessments of personality were then examined in the context of contrasting child care experiences. There was virtually no difference between the developmental trajectories of the children in home care and in centre-based day care. In contrast, ego-undercontrol decreased less, whereas ego-resilience and field independence increased less, in children who attended family day care than in the children in either centre care or exclusive parental care. The quality of home and out-of-home care, as well as socioeconomic status and family background, did not moderate or qualify these effects of the type of care experienced. The results are discussed in relation to previous work on the effects of early out-of-home care on child development.