89
CAREGIVER STABILITY AND DAY CARE: CONTINUITY VS.DAILY ASSOCIATION. E. }lark Cummings. Day care is avery complex child rearing environment. The criticalfactor in day care outcomes is likely to be day carequality. The present report examines caregiverstability and group size as programmatic elements ofday care affecting children's socioemotional functioning in day care. Two aspects of caregiverstability are distinguished: Continuity and dailyexposure. Children from two centers (one large andone moderate in attendance) were observed during daycare separations with two caregivers, one stable andone relatively non-stable according to one of thetwo stability criteria. Continuity influenced responding: Children were less resistant of physicalcontact with more continuous caregivers, were lesslikely to leave the caregiver and seek proximitywith the mother, and showed less negative and morepositive affect following separation. In contrast,comparisons in terms of daily association yieldedno significant effects. Children in the smallercenter showed more positive affect prior to separation, less avoidance during entry, and searched lessfor the mother. In addition, continuity seemed tobe less important in the smaller center. Theseresults add to a growing literature that suggeststhat continuity is of considerable significance toinfant-adult relations, and also to evidence thatinfants function better in smaller groups.
