DOI: 10.3886/icpsr21941.v3
title: NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development: Phase II, 1995-1999 [United States]
title: SECCYD Phase II, 1995-1999
title: Version 3

description: The overall purpose of this study was to examine the influence of
variations in early childcare histories on the psychological
development of infants and toddlers from a variety of family
backgrounds. This general objective was addressed through a
prospective, longitudinal study of the experiences of 1,364 children and
their families, which took into account the
complex interactions among child characteristics and those
of the human and physical environments in which
the children were reared.
Research Goals
The specific research aims were as follows:

Examining the relationship between infants' childcare
arrangements (defined in terms of hours, type, quality, and
stability of care and the age at which the child entered care)
and children's concurrent and long-term development.
Specifically, the study investigated the association between
children's experiences in childcare and their social, emotional,
language, and cognitive development. The social-emotional
assessments included measures of attachment, independence,
compliance, behavior problems, prosocial and antisocial behavior,
and general competence in interacting with peers. Cognitive variables
include general developmental level and problem solving skills. Language
assessments incorporated measures of children's expressive and receptive communicative competence.; 
Examining whether the social ecology of the home
moderates the effects of childcare, i.e., whether children
from different home environments are differentially affected by
similar childcare experiences. The study examined the
moderating effects of parents' values and attitudes,
psychological adjustment and mental health, stress and social
support, child-rearing practices, time use, interactions with the
child, the marital relationship, and family demographics.; 
Examining whether individual differences among children
moderate the effects of infant care on child development. The
study examined the moderating effects of such child
characteristics as age, sex, health, birth order, and
temperament.; 
Identify demographic and family characteristics
associated with families' childcare decisions. The study examined whether
specific childcare arrangements are related to
the parents' social class, marital status, psychological
adjustment and personality, child-rearing values and attitudes,
parenting practices, stress, social support, marital
relationship, and the availability of childcare in the community.; 
Provide a natural history of infant care in the
1990s, and help establish a baseline of data pertaining to the
kinds of care being used by families. Whereas other national
databases, such as those provided by the United States Census Bureau, provide
static estimates of the number of children in different types of
childcare, this network study supplements that knowledge
with longitudinal data on successive enrollments into day care at
various ages, patterns of arrangements used concurrently and over
time, and the stability of arrangements during the first three
years of life. One of the most valuable aspects of the
collaborative study is the opportunity it provides to obtain a
more complete and accurate picture of patterns of infant care
used by families today. Census surveys use only gross categories
of care (e.g., center vs. in-home). In this study, more fine-grained
information regarding the types of centers and home-care
facilities was gathered.; 
Examine the consequences for families of maternal
employment and childcare choices. Family relationships,
parental mental health, family stress, and so on, are not just
inputs to child development or moderators of childcare effects,
they are also outcomes. High-quality childcare may alleviate
family stress and enhance parental adjustment. Low-quality childcare may add to the stress parents experience. Although the main
focus in the study was on the effect of childcare on the child, the
study also examined the effect of childcare on the family.; 
Identify demographic characteristics of childcare
associated with childcare quality. Of interest to policy makers
is another aspect of the study, the investigation of those
regulatory characteristics that predict care of higher quality.
These characteristics included the level and type of caregiver
training, the size of the childcare group, the auspices of the
childcare program (public/private, profit/nonprofit,
independent/chain, employer-sponsored/church-based), whether the
facility was licensed or unlicensed, the level of payment and
fees, and whether the caregiver was a relative of the family.; 
Data File Organization

193 data files were compiled for this study and are organized into 3 main groups:

Analytical Data Sets (ADS) -- The raw data were examined and composites defined by small groups of individual principal investigators according to the demographic, family, childcare, and child outcome content of the data. The psychometric and distributional qualities of the variables along with site differences were examined. A set of variables that was psychometrically and distributionally acceptable to be used in analytic analyses was designed to test the study hypotheses. These data files comprise Parts 1-24 of the study data material.; 
Supplemental Data Sets -- New and revised analysis variables as well as across-time mean scores and primary composites were produced as a supplement to the original Analytical Data Sets. These data files comprise Parts 25-27 of the study data material.; 
Raw Data Sets -- The raw data were made available and comprise Parts 28-193 of the study data material.; 
Training Workshop
A three-day summer training workshop on the SECCYD was put on by NICHD at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2010. The binder from that workshop, which includes the Powerpoint slides used during presentations, are freely available to the public as part of the study documentation.
description: To examine the influence of variations in early childcare histories on the psychological development of infants and toddlers from a variety of family backgrounds.
description: The SECCYD is a multi-site, prospective, longitudinal study of the experiences of 1,364 children and their families. Respondents were sampled from a catchment of some 6,189 children. Children's development was assessed via trained observers, interviewers, questionnaires, and direct testing. Measures were taken on many facets of children's development, such as social, emotional, intellectual, and language development, behavioral problems and adjustment, and physical health.
Data collection for the study began in 1991 when participating children were one month old and continued (in Phases I and II) through the first grade. Over the nearly seven-year period, research assistants from the ten data collection sites saw each child at home, in childcare (if used), in elementary school, and in a laboratory playroom. Telephone updates were completed every 3 months in Phase I and every 4 months in Phase II ending at child-age 54 months, with a 6-month phone follow-up at child-age 60 months. Assessments were made of the child, the parent(s), and the social and physical characteristics of the home, of the childcare (and after-school) environments, and the elementary school.
description: The 24 Analytical Data Sets (ADS) contain composite variables, created from the raw data by Quantitative Systems Laboratory (QSL) at Vanderbilt University, to be psychometrically and distributionally acceptable for analytical analysis of the study hypotheses. The 3 Supplemental Data Sets were produced by Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and contain new and revised analysis variables, across-time mean scores, and primary composites. The 166 Raw Data Sets contain the direct item-level data collected per instrument.
description: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of 
				disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major 
				statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to 
				these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
			   		Created variable labels and/or value labels.; Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes..
description: Presence of Common Scales: 
					 My Child's Relationship With Me Scale;  Partial Least Squares Scoring;  Woodcock Johnson-Revised Achievement Scale;  Woodcock Johnson-Revised Cognitive Scale;  Child Behavior Checklist;  Social Skills Rating Scale;  Caregiver-Teacher Report Form;  Teacher's Report Form;  Child-Caregiver Rel Scale: Short Form;  Student-Teacher Rel Scale: Short Form;  Teacher's Report Form;  Child-Parent Relationship Scale: Short Form;
description: Response Rates: 
					During Phase I of the study (1991-1994), a cohort of 1,364 children and their families were recruited at 1 month of age and studied intensively through age 3. During Phase II of the study (1995-1999), a cohort of 1,220 of the enrolled children and families were followed through first grade in order to investigate the long-term effects of early alternate-care experiences.
description: Datasets: 
					
						DS0: Study-Level Files
						DS1: ADS-ASCAREG1
						DS2: ADS-ASCARE_K
						DS3: ADS-ASCGG1
						DS4: ADS-CARGIV54
						DS5: ADS-CCARE54
						DS6: ADS-COUT54
						DS7: ADS-COUTG1
						DS8: ADS-COUT_K
						DS9: ADS-DEMO54
						DS10: ADS-DEMOG1
						DS11: ADS-DEMO_K
						DS12: ADS-FAM54
						DS13: ADS-FAMG1
						DS14: ADS-FAM_K
						DS15: ADS-PHONE42
						DS16: ADS-PHONE46
						DS17: ADS-PHONE50
						DS18: ADS-PHONE60
						DS19: ADS-PHONE66
						DS20: ADS-SCHG1
						DS21: ADS-SCHHIST
						DS22: ADS-SCH_K
						DS23: ADS-TCHRG1
						DS24: ADS-TCHR_K
						DS25: Supplemental-CCARESUM
						DS26: Supplemental-CC_CG54
						DS27: Supplemental-SUMFINAL
						DS28: RAW-AS1FS_A
						DS29: RAW-ASKFKS_A
						DS30: RAW-CC3466_A
						DS31: RAW-CCKF1S_A
						DS32: RAW-F39CA54
						DS33: RAW-F40A40_F
						DS34: RAW-F42A42_K
						DS35: RAW-F46A46_K
						DS36: RAW-F46A50_N
						DS37: RAW-F54A54
						DS38: RAW-F54C54
						DS39: RAW-F54D54
						DS40: RAW-F54E54
						DS41: RAW-F54G54
						DS42: RAW-F54H154
						DS43: RAW-F54H254
						DS44: RAW-F54I54
						DS45: RAW-F54J54
						DS46: RAW-F54K54
						DS47: RAW-F54L54
						DS48: RAW-F54M54
						DS49: RAW-F54N54
						DS50: RAW-F54P54
						DS51: RAW-F54Q54
						DS52: RAW-F54R54
						DS53: RAW-F54S54
						DS54: RAW-F54T54_A
						DS55: RAW-F54V54_A
						DS56: RAW-F54X54
						DS57: RAW-F54Y54
						DS58: RAW-F54Z54_A
						DS59: RAW-F55A54
						DS60: RAW-F55B54
						DS61: RAW-F55C54
						DS62: RAW-F55E54
						DS63: RAW-F55G54
						DS64: RAW-F55I54
						DS65: RAW-F55J54
						DS66: RAW-F55K54_A
						DS67: RAW-F55L54_A
						DS68: RAW-F55M54_A
						DS69: RAW-F55N54_A
						DS70: RAW-F55P54
						DS71: RAW-F56A54
						DS72: RAW-F56B54_A
						DS73: RAW-F56C54_A
						DS74: RAW-F56D54_A
						DS75: RAW-F56F54_A
						DS76: RAW-F56G54
						DS77: RAW-F56H54_A
						DS78: RAW-F56J54_A
						DS79: RAW-F56K154
						DS80: RAW-F56K254
						DS81: RAW-F56K354
						DS82: RAW-F56K454
						DS83: RAW-F56K554
						DS84: RAW-F56K654A
						DS85: RAW-F56L154
						DS86: RAW-F56L254
						DS87: RAW-F56L354
						DS88: RAW-F56N54
						DS89: RAW-F56P54
						DS90: RAW-F56Q54
						DS91: RAW-F56R54
						DS92: RAW-F56T54
						DS93: RAW-F56U54
						DS94: RAW-F56V54
						DS95: RAW-F56X54
						DS96: RAW-F60A60
						DS97: RAW-F60A66
						DS98: RAW-F60KM_A
						DS99: RAW-FAS1G1
						DS100: RAW-FAS2G1_A
						DS101: RAW-FAS3G1_A
						DS102: RAW-FAS4G1
						DS103: RAW-FAS5G1
						DS104: RAW-FAS6G1
						DS105: RAW-FAS7G1
						DS106: RAW-FCPT54
						DS107: RAW-FCPTG1
						DS108: RAW-FDMQ_A
						DS109: RAW-FG1FA
						DS110: RAW-FG1LA
						DS111: RAW-FG1M2_A
						DS112: RAW-FG1M_A
						DS113: RAW-FG1SA
						DS114: RAW-FHV10G1
						DS115: RAW-FHV11G1
						DS116: RAW-FHV12G1
						DS117: RAW-FHV13G1A
						DS118: RAW-FHV14G1
						DS119: RAW-FHV15G1
						DS120: RAW-FHV16G1A
						DS121: RAW-FHV1G1_A
						DS122: RAW-FHV2G1_A
						DS123: RAW-FHV3G1_A
						DS124: RAW-FHV4G1
						DS125: RAW-FHV5G1
						DS126: RAW-FHV6G1
						DS127: RAW-FHV7G1
						DS128: RAW-FHV8G1
						DS129: RAW-FHV9G1
						DS130: RAW-FKBCB_A
						DS131: RAW-FKBCP
						DS132: RAW-FKBFE
						DS133: RAW-FKBGR
						DS134: RAW-FKBPQ
						DS135: RAW-FKBSS_A
						DS136: RAW-FKFA
						DS137: RAW-FKHS
						DS138: RAW-FKSA
						DS139: RAW-FKTAS
						DS140: RAW-FKTFF
						DS141: RAW-FKTGR
						DS142: RAW-FKTSR_A
						DS143: RAW-FKTSS
						DS144: RAW-FKTST
						DS145: RAW-FKTTQ_A
						DS146: RAW-FKTTR_A
						DS147: RAW-FLV10G1A
						DS148: RAW-FLV11G1
						DS149: RAW-FLV12G1
						DS150: RAW-FLV13G1
						DS151: RAW-FLV14G1
						DS152: RAW-FLV15G1
						DS153: RAW-FLV16G1
						DS154: RAW-FLV17G1
						DS155: RAW-FLV18G1
						DS156: RAW-FLV19G1
						DS157: RAW-FLV1G1_A
						DS158: RAW-FLV20G1
						DS159: RAW-FLV21G1
						DS160: RAW-FLV22G1
						DS161: RAW-FLV2G1
						DS162: RAW-FLV3G1
						DS163: RAW-FLV4G1
						DS164: RAW-FLV5G1
						DS165: RAW-FLV6G1_A
						DS166: RAW-FLV7G1_A
						DS167: RAW-FLV9G1_A
						DS168: RAW-FSV10G1
						DS169: RAW-FSV11G1
						DS170: RAW-FSV12G1
						DS171: RAW-FSV13G1
						DS172: RAW-FSV14G1
						DS173: RAW-FSV15G1
						DS174: RAW-FSV1G1
						DS175: RAW-FSV2G1
						DS176: RAW-FSV3G1
						DS177: RAW-FSV4G1_A
						DS178: RAW-FSV5G1
						DS179: RAW-FSV6G1_A
						DS180: RAW-FSV7G1
						DS181: RAW-FSV8G1_A
						DS182: RAW-FSV9G1
						DS183: RAW-HH1FSL_A
						DS184: RAW-HH4250_D
						DS185: RAW-HH54_A
						DS186: RAW-HH6066_B
						DS187: RAW-HHKFKS_B
						DS188: RAW-JB1L_A
						DS189: RAW-JB4250_C
						DS190: RAW-JB54_A
						DS191: RAW-JB6066_A
						DS192: RAW-SCKF1S_A
						DS193: RAW-SCKF1S_B
description: NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) Series
description: computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI)
description: computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI)
description: coded on-site observation
description: cognitive assessment test
description: face-to-face interview
description: mail questionnaire
description: self-enumerated questionnaire
description: on-site questionnaire
description: telephone interview
description: Full-term, healthy newborns of mothers giving birth in hospitals at 10 locations throughout the United States during designated 24-hour periods between January and November 1991.
description: Participants were selected in accordance with a conditionally random sampling plan, which was designed to ensure that the recruited families (a) included mothers who planned to work or to go to school full-time (60 percent) or part-time (20 percent) in the child's first year, as well as some who planned to stay at home with the child (20 percent), and (b) reflected the demographic diversity (economic, educational, and ethnic) of the sites. Both two-parent and single-parent families were included. The major exclusionary criteria used were (a) mothers younger than 18 years of age at the time of the child's birth, (b) families who did not anticipate remaining in the catchment area for at least 3 years, (c) children with obvious disabilities at birth or who remained in the hospital more than 7 days postpartum, and (d) mothers not sufficiently conversant in English. Analyses have indicated that the data do reflect the natural distributions of these factors in the catchment. Therefore, inferences from this data can be made directly to the catchment without back-weighting for the sampling factors. In addition, analyses have shown that the NICHD data reflect to large degree the natural distributions of certain factors measured in the 1990 Census data. However, the NICHD data are not representative in the statistical sense, and therefore inference to the nation as a whole is not possible. Comparisons to other databases, national or otherwise, should be made with extreme caution.