Citation

Burchinal MR, Bryant DM, Lee MW, Ramey CT. Early Child Res. Q. 1992; 7(3): 383-396.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0885-2006(92)90028-W

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Whether routine nonmaternal care contributes to the development of insecure infant-mother attachment has been vigorously debated. Selection bias and age of entry to day care have been cited as potentially important confounding factors. The day-care attachment issue was examined with a longitudinal sample of 45 infants whose parents all agreed to place their infant in a research day-care center if selected, and who, if they received nonmaternal care, began day care by the age of 7 months. Routine, full-time, nonmaternal care was not associated with increased insecure attachment. In addition, day care did not negatively change, and sometimes enhanced, the associations between the infant-mother attachment and the mother's involvement and warmth toward her infant during the first year of life.