Do Effects of Early Child Care Extend to Age 15 Years? Results From the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development

TLDR

The study examined the relationship between nonrelative child care from birth to 4½ years and adolescent functioning at age 15 in a sample of 1,364 participants. Higher quality and more hours of early child care were associated with better cognitive–academic achievement and fewer externalizing behaviors at age 15, while more hours predicted increased risk taking and impulsivity, with quality effects mediated by earlier achievement gains and externalizing behavior reductions.

Abstract

Relations between nonrelative child care (birth to 4½ years) and functioning at age 15 were examined ( N = 1,364). Both quality and quantity of child care were linked to adolescent functioning. Effects were similar in size as those observed at younger ages. Higher quality care predicted higher cognitive–academic achievement at age 15, with escalating positive effects at higher levels of quality. The association between quality and achievement was mediated, in part, by earlier child‐care effects on achievement. High‐quality early child care also predicted youth reports of less externalizing behavior. More hours of nonrelative care predicted greater risk taking and impulsivity at age 15, relations that were partially mediated by earlier child‐care effects on externalizing behaviors.