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

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: 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: 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: 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.
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: 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: computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI); computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI); coded on-site observation; cognitive assessment test; face-to-face interview; mail questionnaire; self-enumerated questionnaire; on-site questionnaire; telephone interviewData are available for the other phases of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) Series. See: SECCYD Phase I, 1991-1994 (ICPSR 21940), SECCYD Phase III, 2000-2004 (ICPSR 21942), and SECCYD Phase IV, 2005-2007 (ICPSR 22361).The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development was conducted by a network of investigators called the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. The network was led and managed by a steering committee that included an independent chairperson, one representative from each of the grantee sites, one representative from the data center, and one representative from NICHD. The steering committee established policies and procedures that governed the operations of the network. The progress of the study was monitored by NICHD and by the steering committee with guidance from an advisory board which was nominated by the director of NICHD.