NICHD Early Child Care Research Research Articles

Revisiting implications of early family economic conditions for adolescent adaptations: An integrative cascade model.

Implications of family economic conditions (FECs) for child development have been extensively examined. What remains sparse is research spanning multiple life stages to delineate the far-reaching influences of early FECs for child subsequent development in different domains and how various family stress and investment processes jointly account for such association. To address these gaps, using data from 929 families in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2001, 2005), this study examined how family income-to-needs ratio (FITNR) when children were 1-36 months old was associated with child language skills, social competence, externalizing, and internalizing problems at 6th grade. Parental investment and maternal/paternal depressive symptoms and sensitivity when children were 54 months old and in 3rd grade were tested as potential mediators. Results indicated that early FITNR shaped child cognitive, social, and behavioral adaptation in early adolescence indirectly through parental investment, depressive symptoms, and sensitive parenting in the preschool period and middle childhood. Parental investment, depressive symptoms, and sensitive parenting played such mediating roles above and beyond each other. Parental investment primarily accounted for the association between early FITNR and child later language skills, whereas parental depressive symptoms and sensitive parenting uniquely explained the associations between early FITNR and child subsequent internalizing symptoms, externalizing problems, social competence, and language skills. Theoretical/practical implications of such findings were discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The practical utility of the Welch Emotional Connection Screen for rating parent-infant relational health.

Emotional Connection (EC) measured by the Welch Emotional Connection Screen (WECS) was related to the Parent-Infant Interaction Rating System (PIIRS), a 5-point adaptation of the rating system developed for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (e.g., NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 1999, Developmental Psychology, 35, 1399). Parent-infant dyads (n=49 mothers; 43 fathers) were videotaped during face-to-face interaction at infant age 6months; interactions were coded with both the WECS and PIIRS. At age 3, mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist. WECS ratings of EC were associated with PIIRS rating items for both mother-infant and father-infant dyads. Mother-infant EC related positively to maternal sensitivity and positive regard for child, child positive mood and sustained attention, and dyadic mutuality, and negatively with maternal intrusiveness. Father-infant EC related positively to fathers' positive regard for child, child positive mood and sustained attention, and dyadic mutuality. Mother-infant EC predicted child behavior problems at age 3 better than mother-infant PIIRS ratings of dyadic mutuality. With fathers, neither EC nor dyadic mutuality ratings predicted mother-reported child behavior problems. Findings highlight the practical utility of the WECS for identifying potentially at-risk dyads and supporting early relational health.

Differential susceptibility to effects of maternal sensitivity? A study of candidate plasticity genes-CORRIGENDUM.

Development and Psychopathology 27 (2015), 725–746 # Cambridge University Press 2014 doi:10.1017/S0954579414000844 Differential susceptibility to effects of maternal sensitivity? A study of candidate plasticity genes JAY BELSKY, a DANIEL A. NEWMAN, b KEITH F. WIDAMAN, a PHIL RODKIN, b MICHAEL PLUESS, c R. CHRIS FRALEY, b DANIEL BERRY, b JONATHAN L. HELM, a AND GLENN I. ROISMAN d a University of California, Davis; b University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign; c Kings College London; and d University of Minnesota Abstract Here we tested whether there was genetic moderation of effects of early maternal sensitivity on social–emotional and cognitive–linguistic development from early childhood onward and whether any detected Gene Environment interaction effects proved consistent with differential-susceptibility or diathesis–stress models of PersonEnvironment interaction (N ¼ 695). Two new approaches for evaluating models were employed with 12 candidate genes. Whereas maternal sensitivity proved to be a consistent predictor of child functioning across the primary-school years, candidate genes did not show many main effects, nor did they tend to interact with maternal sensitivity/insensitivity. These findings suggest that the developmental benefits of early sensitive mothering and the costs of insensitive mothering look more similar than different across genetically different children in the current sample. Although acknowledgement of this result is important, it is equally important that the generally null GeneEnvironment results reported here not be overgeneralized to other samples, other predictors, other outcomes, and other candidate genes. The differential-susceptibility hypothesis, which stipulates that some individuals are more susceptible than others to both positive and negative environmental effects, perhaps most especially parenting, has received substantial attention and empirical support in recent years (Belsky, Bakermans- Kranenburg, & van IJzendoorn, 2007; Belsky & Pluess, 2013; Ellis, Boyce, Belsky, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & van IJzendoorn, 2011; Pluess & Belsky, 2009, 2010), including in research on Gene Environment (G E) interaction (Ba- kermans-Kranenburg & van IJzendoorn, 2011; Belsky et al., 2009; Belsky & Pluess, 2009; Berry, Deater-Deckard, McCartney, Wang, & Petrill, 2013). Here we test the specific proposition that a set of 12 candidate “plasticity genes,” se- lected principally on the basis of prior reviews of relevant research (Belsky et al., 2009; Belsky & Pluess, 2009), will moderate the effects of maternal sensitivity on children’s social–emotional and cognitive–linguistic development in a manner consistent with the differential-susceptibility hypothe- sis. Toward this end, we employ two new statistical methods, applying them to longitudinal data collected from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD; NICHD Early Child Care Research Network [ECCRN], 2005), in response to questions raised about the adequacy and appro- priateness of existing statistical criteria for evaluating differen- tial susceptibility (Belsky, Pluess, & Widaman, 2013; Roisman et al., 2012; Widaman et al., 2012). The application of appro- priate analytic criteria for differential susceptibility is necessary to minimize Type 1 errors and failures to replicate that have fru- strated previous work on candidate genes and broad phenotypes of human cognition, personality, and social behavior (Charney & English, 2012; Deary, 2012; Wacker, Mueller, Hennig, & Stemmler, 2012). Theories of Socialization and Maternal Sensitivity Extraction and genotyping for the NICHD SECCYD was performed at the Genome Core Facility in the Huck Institutes for Life Sciences at Penn State University under the direction of Deborah S. Grove, Director for Genetic Analysis. Genotyping was principally supported by a Research Board grant from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (to P.R. and G.I.R.). This work was also supported by NSF Grant BCS-0720538 (to G.I.R. and R.C.F.) and by NICHD Grant R01 HD064687 to Rand Conger, which are gratefully acknowledged. Finally, we dedicate this work to the memory of our friend and coauthor Phil Rodkin. In addition to his major contributions to this manuscript, Phil fully embodied the collaborative and collegial spirit that ultimately birthed this contribution to the literature. Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Jay Belsky, Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, 1331 Hart Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616; E-mail: jbelsky@ucdavis.edu. A central assumption of many developmental perspectives on socialization, whether based, for example, on theories of at- tachment (Ainsworth, 1973; Sroufe, 2000), social learning (Patterson, 1986), or evolution (Belsky, Steinberg, & Draper, 1991), is that parenting matters when it comes to how children develop. Although a myriad of parenting constructs are mea- sured in socialization research, including, for example, author- itative parenting (Baumrind, 1967, 1991), coercive parenting (Patterson, 1986), and mutually responsive relationships (Ko- chanska, 2002), the focus in the present report is on sensitive parenting, a construct emphasized in attachment theory. Ac-

Does engaging in prosocial behavior make children see the world through rose-colored glasses?

Sparse research suggests that children's social information processing has links not just with aggressive behavior but also with children's prosocial behavior (e.g., Nelson & Crick, 1999). However, the past work that has been done has not been longitudinal, so the direction of links between social information processing and prosocial behavior remains unclear. In this study, we used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2010) to examine longitudinally the links between prosocial as well as aggressive behaviors and social information processing. Children completed multiple assessments of social information processing (including attribution biases and strategy response selection) from the 3rd to 5th grades. Mothers and teachers completed measures of children's prosocial and aggressive behavior from the 3rd to 6th grades. Overall, the findings demonstrated that some of the links between social information processing and social behavior are bidirectional but that the direction of effects depends on when such links were assessed. At Grade 3, it was mostly children's social behavior that predicted social information processing. At Grades 4 and 5, however, social information processing predicted children's social behavior.

Patterns of Quality Experienced by African American Children in Early Education Programs: Predictors and Links to Children’s Preschool and Kindergarten Academic Outcomes

Research consistently demonstrates that high-quality early care and education programs (ECE) produce significant short-term and long-term cognitive, social, and emotional gains in children who participate (Barnett, 2011; Burchinal et al., 2008; Camilli et al., 2010; Winsler et al., 2008; Zaslow et al., 2010). Immediate effects of ECE include improved academic performance (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2002a; Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001), higher achievement test scores, stronger quantitative skills (Votruba-Drzal, Coley, & Chase-Lansdale, 2004), and better language production and comprehension (Tran & Weinraub, 2006). Research studies also demonstrate that high quality ECE also have significant lasting effects on cognitive abilities (IQ and achievement test scores), school progress (grade repetition, special education placement, and educational attainment), and social behavior (reduced delinquency and crime) (Aos et al., 2004; Karoly, Kilbum, & Cannon, 2005).While high quality ECE is beneficial for all children, some studies reveal it can be especially critical for children from economically disadvantaged families (Burchinal et al., 2010; Sabol & Pianta, 2014). Studies indicate that ECE can be an even stronger predictor of positive outcomes for ethnic minority children, who are likely to be from low-income homes, than for more advantaged children (Burchinal et al., 2000; Burchinal et al., 2006; Caughy, DiPietro, & Strobino, 1994; Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010; Vandell et al., 2010). Two of the oldest and best known longitudinal studies demonstrating longterm benefits of ECE for predominantly low-income African American children are the Abecedarian and the High/Scope Perry Preschool projects. Both of these studies showed that highquality early care can have lasting positive effects, some reaching well into adulthood (Belfield et al., 2006; Pungello et al., 2010). However, a more recent report found that African American children are likely to experience lower quality early education programs compared to their White counterparts (Barnett, Carolan, & Johns, 2013).As more attention is beginning to focus on ECE, including through the Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge grant competition, questions are being asked regarding what constitutes quality and how to improve and incentivize quality, especially for children most at risk for school failure (e.g., minority children, children from low-income households; Sabol & Pianta, 2014). Since quality is multi-dimensional, encompassing structural (e.g., education, child-teacher ratio) and process (e.g., teacher-child interactions) features (Cassidy et al., 2005), it is important to:* understand the patterns of quality that African American children are likely to experience,* examine the extent to which child, family, teacher, and program characteristics are associated with patterns of quality, and* know how patterns of quality are associated with children outcomes.Conceptual FrameworkChildren's development is influenced by multiple systems (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007). Nevertheless, the most proximal system-families and ECE programs-have the largest and most direct impact on children's development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007). Studies have noted that ECE experiences, particularly the quality of the learning environment, can have a profound impact on children's early development and learning (see Magnuson & Waldfogel, 2005; NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2000; Vandell et al., 2010). It is posited that high quality ECE provides children with stable, nurturing, and responsive caregivers, language-rich environments, and supports children's socio-emotional and physical development. Garcia Coll and colleagues (1996) noted that promoting (rather than inhibiting) environments are particularly beneficial for minority children's development, while also considering other child (e. …

Do sensitive parents foster kind children, or vice versa? Bidirectional influences between children’s prosocial behavior and parental sensitivity.

Bidirectional theories of social development have been around for over 40 years (Bell, 1968), yet they have been applied primarily to the study of antisocial development. In the present study, the reciprocal relationship between parenting behavior and children's socially competent behaviors were examined. Using the National Institute of Child Health and Development Study of Early Child Care data set (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2005), bidirectional relationships between parental sensitivity and children's prosocial behavior were modeled using latent variables in structural equation modeling for mothers and fathers, separately. Children and their parents engaged in structured interactions when children were 54-month-olds, 3rd graders, and 5th graders, and these interactions were coded for parental sensitivity. At 3rd, 5th, and 6th grades, teachers and parents reported on children's prosocial behavior. Parental education and child gender were entered as covariates in the models. The results provide support for a bidirectional relationship between children's prosocial behavior and maternal sensitivity (but not paternal sensitivity) in middle childhood. The importance of using a bidirectional approach to examine the development of social competence is emphasized.

Social and Emotional Learning in Schools: From Programs to Strategies and commentaries

Social and Emotional Learning in Schools: From Programs to Strategies and commentaries

Social development in childhood and adolescence: a contemporary reader

Social development in childhood and adolescence: a contemporary reader

Home Visitation and Young Children: An Approach Worth Investing In? and commentaries

Home Visitation and Young Children: An Approach Worth Investing In? and commentaries

Measure twice, cut once: attachment theory and the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development

The NICHD Early Child Care Research Network has produced research findings that provide reassuring confirmation of some central tenets of attachment theory, challenges to other aspects of the theory, and above all highlight the need for attachment researchers to clarify the claims for which the theory can be held accountable. This commentary on Friedman and Boyle's excellent review evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development as a study of attachment, and highlights the relevance of these findings for understanding the origins and consequences of attachment security, the problem of heterotypic continuity of the attachment construct, the importance of examining mediators and moderators of the developmental influence of security, and the interpretation of modest effect sizes from the study.

Developmental contexts in middle childhood: bridges to adolescence and adulthood

Foreword Robert C. Granger Acknowledgments 1. Middle childhood: contexts of development Aletha C. Huston and Marika N. Ripke 2. The significance of middle childhood peer competence for work and relationships in early adulthood W. Andrew Collins and Manfred van Dulmen 3. Aggression and insecurity in late adolescent romantic relationships: antecedents and developmental pathways Gregory S. Pettit, John E. Bates, Amy Holtzworth-Munroe, Amy D. Marshall, Lori D. Harach, David J. Cleary and Kenneth A. Dodge 4. Middle childhood family-contextual and personal factors as predictors of adult outcomes L. Rowell Huesmann, Eric F. Dubow, Leonard D. Eron and Paul Boxer 5. Genetic and environmental influences on continuity and change in reading achievement in the Colorado Adoption Project Sally J. Wadsworth, Robin Corley, Robert Plomin, John K. Hewitt and John C. DeFries 6. Reciprocal effects of mothers' depression and children's problem behaviors from middle childhood to early adolescence Sara R. Jaffee and Richie Poulton 7. Middle childhood life course trajectories: links between family dysfunction and children's behavioral development Linda S. Pagani, Christa Japel, Alain Girard, Abdeljelil Farhat, Sylvana Cote and Richard E. Tremblay 8. The contribution of middle childhood contexts to adolescent achievement and behavior Katherine Magnuson, Greg J. Duncan and Ariel Kalil 9. Educational tracking within and between schools: from first grade through middle school and beyond Doris R. Entwisle, Karl L. Alexander and Linda Steffel Olson 10. School environments and the diverging pathways of students living in poverty Penny Hauser-Cram, Marji Erickson Warfield, Jennifer Stadler and Selcuk R. Sirin 11. The relations of classroom contexts in the early elementary years to children's classroom and social behavior NICHD Early Child Care Research Network 12. Out-of-school time use during middle childhood in a low-income sample: do combinations of activities affect achievement and behavior? Pamela Morris and Ariel Kalil 13. Low-income children's activity participation as a predictor of psychosocial and academic outcomes in middle childhood and adolescence Marika N. Ripke, Aletha C. Huston and David M. Casey 14. Healthy mind, healthy habits: the influence of activity involvement in middle childhood Sandra D. Simpkins, Jennifer A. Fredricks, Pamela E. Davis-Kean and Jacquelynne S. Eccles 15. Media effects in middle childhood L. Rowell Huesmann and Laramie D. Taylor 16. Continuity and discontinuity in middle childhood: implications for adult outcomes in the UK 1970 birth cohort Leon Feinstein and John Bynner 17. Mandatory welfare-to-work programs and preschool-age children: do impacts persist into middle childhood? Sharon M. McGroder, Martha J. Zaslow, Kristin A. Moore and Jennifer L. Brooks 18. Effects of welfare and employment policies on middle-childhood school performance: do they vary by race/ethnicity, and if so, why? Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Pamela Morris, Lisa Gennetian, Amanda L. Roy, Anna Gassman-Pines and Erin B. Godfrey 19. Effects of a family poverty intervention program lasting from middle childhood to adolescence Aletha C. Huston, Sylvia R. Epps, Mi Suk Shim, Greg J. Duncan, Danielle A. Crosby and Marika N. Ripke 20. Experiences in middle childhood and children's development: a summary and integration of research Aletha C. Huston and Marika N. Ripke.

Child care and child development: results from the NICHD study of early child care and youth development

Alexander, Foreword. Part I: Overview. Nonmaternal Care and Family Factors in Early Development: An Overview of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Part II: Child Care Use and Quality. Child Care in the First Year of Life. Characteristics of Infant Child Care: Factors Contributing to Positive Caregiving. Booth, Kelly, Child Care Characteristics of Infants with and without Special Needs: Comparisons and Concerns. A New Guide for Evaluating Child Care Quality. Characteristics and Quality of Child Care for Toddlers and Preschoolers. Part III: Why Consider Family Effects in a Study of Child Care? Familial Factors Associated with the Characteristics of Nonmaternal Care of Infants. Before Head Start: Income and Ethnicity, Family Characteristics, Child Care Experiences, and Child Development. Dearing, McCartney, Taylor, Change in Family Income-to-Needs Matters More for Children with Less. Chronicity of Maternal Depressive Symptoms, Maternal Sensitivity, and Child Functioning at 36 Months. The Interaction of Child Care and Family Risk in Relation to Child Development at 24 and 36 Months. Part IV: Child Care and Health. Child Care and Common Communicable Illnesses. Child Care and Common Communicable Illnesses in Children Ages 37-54 Months. Part V: Child Care and Mother-child Relations. The Effects of Infant Child Care on Infant-Mother Attachment Security. Child Care and Family Predictors of Preschool Attachment and Stability from Infancy. Owen, Ware, Barfoot, Caregiver-Mother Partnership Behavior and the Quality of Caregiver-Child and Mother-Child Interactions. Child Care and Mother-Child Interaction in the First 3 Years of Life. Early Child Care and Mother-Child Interaction from 36 Months through First Grade. Part VI: Child Care and Psychological Development. Early Child Care and Self-Control, Compliance, and Problem Behavior at 24 and 36 Months. Early Child Care and Children's Peer Interaction at 24 and 36 Months. Does Amount of Time Spent in Child Care Predict Socioemotional Adjustment during the Transition to Kindergarten? The Relation of Child Care to Cognitive and Language Development. Does Quality of Child Care Affect Child Outcomes at Age 41/2? NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, Child Outcomes When Child Care Center Classes Meet Recommended Standards for Quality. NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, Child Care Structure --> Process --> Outcome: Direct and Indirect Effects of Child Care Quality on Young Children's Development. Early Child Care and Children's Development Prior to School Entry. Part VII: Effects of Families on the Development of Children Who Are in Child Care. Factors Associated with Fathers' Caregiving Activities and Sensitivity with Young Children. Relations between Family Predictors and Child Outcomes: Are They Weaker for Children with Child Care? Families Matter - Even for Kids in Child Care. Part VIII: Commentary. Contributions of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, Ramey, Human Developmental Science Serving Children and Families.

Using Scientific Knowledge to Inform Preschool Assessment: Making the Case for “Empirical Validity”

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 crystallized the concern for accountability in education. National testing was mandated as a way to improve the “broken” educational system. Publicly funded early education programs were not spared from such testing. While the positive effects of high-quality early education on children’s later school achievement is well demonstrated, too many early care and educational settings in the United States are of minimal or poor quality. Accountability is clearly important for increasing the quality of our early childhood programs, however, it is not yet evident how best to formulate a standard of accountability that reflects the body of knowledge we have gained concerning how young children learn. In this report, we propose two major thrusts designed to bring about a more scientifically informed accountability system: reconceptualizing the ways in which we think about the validity of our test instruments, and reconceptualizing markers of development from products of learning (performance standards) to processes of learning. We introduce the term “empirical validity” to draw attention to the fact that assessments should be built on current empirical work in the various developmental domains. This report focuses on the domains of language and literacy, two areas of major concern for the Federal Head Start program and for which there is an abundance of current research. This body of knowledge provides many examples illustrating how an emphasis on process rather than product can be vital for improving the quality of education. For example, although vocabulary is centrally important and psychometrically adequate tests of early vocabulary exist, these tests do not measure essential aspects of word learning that have been identified as predictive of later language and reading success in early language learning literature. Our case study of language and literacy illustrates how today’s developmental science offers a new knowledge that can be strategically incorporated in assessments for empirically valid testing of children’s competencies. The same argument for “empirically valid” and evidence-based assessments applies to other domains of cognitive growth and to socio-emotional development. The future of preschool assessment would be well served by attention to primary research that focuses on the processes of learning. In this report, we also suggest that one possible avenue for progress in assessment would center on integrative and dynamic assessment techniques that would comprehensively capture the nature of children’s learning, minimize validity concerns related to context and culture, and evaluate how competencies in different developmental domains interact for optimal learning. To bridge the gap between science and policy, developmental scientists and test developers are urged to work together to create innovative ways to chart the developmental processes that support learning and progress toward social maturity in ways designed to ensure that research findings are continuously reflected in current assessments.

Putting the Child Back Into Child Care: Combining Care and Education for Children Ages 3‐5

Putting the Child Back Into Child Care: Combining Care and Education for Children Ages 3‐5

Child outcomes when child care center classes meet recommended standards for quality. NICHD Early Child Care Research Network.

This study assessed outcomes for children when child care centers meet recommended care standards. Data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care were used to examine the association between meeting standards for child-staff ratios, group sizes, caregiver training, and caregiver education and children's development at 24 and 36 months of age. There were 5 major findings: (1) most classes observed did not meet all 4 recommended standards (compliance ranged from 10% at 6 months of age to 34% at 36 months of age); (2) linear associations were found between number of standards met and child outcomes, and this was more the case at 36 months than at 24 months of age: (3) there was no evidence of threshold effects; (4) children in classes that met more standards had better school readiness and language comprehension scores as well as fewer behavior problems at 36 months of age; and (5) child outcomes were predicted by child-staff ratio at 24 months and caregiver training and education at 36 months of age. Outcomes were better when children attended classes that met recommended child-staff ratios and recommended levels of caregiver training and education.

Investigating Child Care Subsidy: What Are We Buying?

Investigating Child Care Subsidy: What Are We Buying?

The Effects of Infant Child Care on Infant‐Mother Attachment Security: Results of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care NICHD Early Child Care Research Network

The aims of this investigation were to determine whether Strange Situation attachment classifications were equally valid for infants with and without extensive child-care experience in the first year of life and whether early Child Care experience, alone or in combination with mother/child factors, was associated with attachment security, and specifically with insecure-avoidant attachment. Participants were 1,153 infants and their mothers at the 10 sites of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Mother were interviewed, given questionnairies, and observed in play and in the home when their infants were from 1 to 15 months of age; infants were observed in child care at 6 and 15 months and in the Strange Situation at 15 months. Infants with extensive Child Care experience did not differ from infants without child-care in the distress they exhibited during separations from mother in the Strange situation or in the confidence with which trained coders assigned them attachment classifications. There were no significant main effects of Child Care experience (quality, amount, age of entry, stability, or type of care) on attachment security or avoidance. There were, however, significant man effects of maternal sensitivity and responsiveness. Significant interaction effects revealed that infants were less likely to be secure when low maternal sensitivity/responsiveness was combined with poor quality child care, more than minimal amounts of child care, or more than one care arrangement. In addition, boys experiencing many hours in care and girls in minimal amounts of care were somewhat less likely to be securely attachment.

Building Research and Policy Connections: Training and Career Options for Developmental Scientists

RESEARCHERS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES have long emphasized the importance of bringing their shared knowledge and skills to bear on significant social problems. This was the vision that gave rise, in 1924, to the Committee on Child Development, and seven years later, to the establishment of the Society for Research in Child Development (Hagen, in press). Today this philosophical position is expressed in “applied developmental science.” Developmental science refers to the study of systematic and successive change in individuals over the lifespan (Fisher, Murray, et al., 1993). This discipline recognizes the ongoing interaction between biological development and the physical and social environment. It investigates change within the individual and between individuals. Normative developmental patterns provide the basis for understanding both typical and atypical development. Applied developmental science pertains when the aim is not just to understand but to intervene in social problems. As students in developmental science, we find many young developmental scientists seeking opportunities to apply developmental principles in this manner; they are interested in forging careers that blend their research training with social policy concerns. At the 1995 biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, an invited conversation hour led by several graduate students focused on the link between developmental science and social policy and the types of skills and training needed to integrate the two. Following the meeting, further conversations ensued both within this group and with exemplars in the field, professionals who are currently bridging the gap between science and policy. This report elaborates the major themes from these discussions:

Characteristics of infant child care: Factors contributing to positive caregiving: NICHD early child care research network

At 6 months of age, 576 infants were observed during 2 half-days in five types of nonmaternal child care (centers, child care homes, in-home sitters, grandparents, and fathers). Settings were assessed in terms of their structural characteristics (group size, child-adult ratio, physical environment) and caregivers' characteristics (formal education, specialized training, child care experience, and beliefs about child rearing). In addition, caregivers' interactions with infants were observed. Caregivers were rated as providing more positive caregiving when group sizes and child-adult ratios were smaller and when caregivers held less-authoritarian beliefs about child rearing. Significant differences were associated with type of care arrangement. Child-adult ratios and group sizes were largest in centers and smallest in informal in-home care (with fathers, grandparents, and in-home sitters); specialized training was highest in centers. Small group sizes, low child-adult ratios, caregivers' nonauthoritarian child-rearing beliefs, and safe, clean, and stimulating physical environments were consistently associated with positive caregiving behaviors within each of these different types of settings.