Infant day care as a treatment intervention: a follow-up comparison study.

Three-year-old children who had been in an infant day care treatment program were compared with matched normal children who were entering regular day care for the first time at age 3, to evaluate the effects of early day care intervention. All children were assessed on general pathology, play, socialization, and separation variables in arrival, play, and mealtime situations and were naturalistically observed in the day centers. No significant differences between groups were found on any of the variables within situations or across situations, supporting the hypothesis that the treatment intervention supported major positive emotional developments and that the early separations were not detrimental in effect. Significant differences between the two groups on clusters of variables suggest patterns in coping and disturbance style specific to the control group and significantly different from the day care group.