Attachment and stress regulation in socioeconomically disadvantaged children: Can public childcare compensate?

Children growing up in families experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage (SED) are at greater risk for deficits in attachment and stress regulation as compared to peers in families with more socioeconomic resources. The present study hypothesized that care providers in out-of-home care might help these children to compensate. We therefore investigated 60 children (n = 30 from SED, n = 30 matched counterparts from middle class) and assessed children's Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) toward the mother and the primary care provider in childcare centers. Moreover, children's diurnal cortisol rhythm was measured based on 12 saliva samples taken across three days a week. The disadvantaged children showed lower AQS scores with their mothers than their care providers. Compared to their counterparts, disadvantaged children also displayed heightened cortisol release and flatter cortisol profiles reflecting overall high hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activities and lower capacities to regulate stress. Most notably however, multilevel path modeling linked higher care provider AQS scores to decreasing cortisol release throughout the week.

Los niños que crecen en familias que experimentan desventajas socioeconómicas (SED) se encuentran bajo mayor riesgo de déficits en la afectividad y regulación del estrés, comparados con compañeros de familias con más recursos socioeconómicos. EL presente estudio presenta la hipótesis de que quienes cuidan a estos niños dentro del sistema público de guarderías pudieran ayudarles a compensar. Nosotros, por tanto, investigamos a 60 niños (n = 30 de SED, n = 30 niños de clase media pareados como contraparte) y evaluamos la afectividad de los niños (AQS) hacia las madres y quienes les proveían el cuidado primario en guarderías infantiles públicas. Es más, se midió el ritmo diurno de cortisol de los niños con base en 12 muestras de saliva tomadas a lo largo de tres días a la semana. Los niños con desventajas mostraron más bajos puntajes de AQS con sus madres que con quienes les prestaban el cuidado. Comparados con su contraparte, los niños con desventajas también mostraron un elevado nivel de emisión de cortisol y perfiles de cortisol más planos lo cual refleja en general un alto nivel de actividades HPA y más bajas capacidades para regular el estrés. Aún más notable, sin embargo, el modelo de trayectoria a múltiples niveles relacionó los más altos puntajes AQS del cuidador con una baja en la emisión de cortisol a lo largo de la semana.

Les enfants grandissant dans des familles faisant l'expérience d'un désavantage socioéconomique (abrégé ici DSE) sont à plus grand risque de déficits dans l'attachement et la régulation du stress comparés aux enfants grandissant dans des familles dotées de plus de ressources socioéconomiques. Cette étude a pris pour hypothèse que les personnes s'occupant des enfants dans les crèches publiques pourraient aider ces enfants à compenser. Nous avons donc étudié 60 enfants (n = 30 de SED, n = 30 homologues issus de la classe moyenne) et évalué l'attachement (AQS) des enfants envers leur mère et envers les personnes prenant soin d'eux dans les crèches publiques. De plus le rythme de cortisol diurne a été mesuré basé sur des échantillons de salive pris au cours de trois jours par semaine. Les enfants de milieu désavantagé ont fait preuve de scores AQS plus bas avec leurs mères qu'avec les personnes prenant soin d'eux dans les crèches. Comparés à leurs homologues, les enfants désavantagés ont aussi fait preuve de sécrétion de cortisol plus élevée et des profils de cortisol plus plats reflétaient des activités HPA dans l'ensemble hautes et des capacités plus basses à réguler le stress. Plus particulièrement cependant une modélisation à plusieurs niveaux a établi un lien entre des scores AQS plus élevés des modes de soin à la crèche à des sécrétions de cortisol décroissantes tout au long de la semaine.

Reflective functioning in fathers with young children born preterm and at term.

The present study assessed 322 parents of 173 children aged between 12 and 20 months (74 children born preterm) with the Parent Development Interview (PDI) to capture parents' Reflective Functioning (RF). RF scores were obtained, and topics were disclosed, for which modeling with Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) was applied. The study addressed (a) whether RF scores differed between fathers of children born preterm and at term, and diverged from the mothers' RF and, (b) whether topics on fathers' minds differed regarding parenting preterm or at-term children, and diverged from topics on parenting raised by mothers. Results indicated that parents of at-term children revealed similar RF scores, though fathers of children born preterm scored lower than mothers of children born preterm. Whereas fathers' RF scores were associated with topics about the paternal role, interests and activities, mothers' RF was related to concerns about how to meet the child's needs.

How fathers' attachment security and education contribute to early child language skills above and beyond mothers: parent-child conversation under scrutiny.

Attachment (AQS) of 100 children aged 12 to 24 months was observed, with more than half of the fathers (and mothers) representing higher social status. Children's language comprehension and production were measured using the Bayley Scales for receptive (RLS) and expressive language skills (ELS). Spontaneous book reading conversations in father-child and mother-child dyads were coded from videotapes, capturing five modes of conversation derived from research on dialogic reading. Path modelling examined the association of these modes on children's RLS and ELS in concurrence with parental attachment and education. First time, significant effects of father-child attachment security on children's RLS were revealed (and confirmed for mother-child dyads). Fathers' impact on child language skills could be further explained through modes which inquire and imitate child responses which were related to RLS and ELS, respectively. Although mothers' modes of conversation were associated with the mother-child attachment relationship, the father-child conversations were not so but instead were associated with the father's educational background.