Comparing center-based with home-based child care: type of care moderates the association between process quality and child functioning

Highlights

• Process quality of Dutch home-based care is higher than center-based care.

• Center-based care offers a richer physical environment than home-based care.

• Children in home-based care have a higher level of well-being and less problem behavior than their peers in center-based care.

• The caregiver-child relationship is a significant moderator of children's well-being and social-emotional functioning in home-based care.

Abstract

This study compares process quality and child functioning in Dutch center-based care and home-based care and explores the role of the dyadic caregiver-child relationship. Participants in this study included 228 children from 74 locations (154 attending center-based child care, 74 home-based child care; mean age 2.5 years). The level of emotional and behavioral support and caregiver-child closeness was higher in home-based care than center-based care, whereas quality of the physical environment was higher in center-based child care. Children's well-being was higher and levels of problem behavior were lower in home-based care compared to center-based care. The caregiver-child relationship was related to a higher level of well-being and less problem behavior. Process quality was more strongly related to children's functioning in home-based child care compared to center-based child care. The dyadic relationship quality is an important element of the care ecology of preschool children and predicts child functioning in both home-based and center-based care.