Group childcare has a positive impact on child development from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

This study aimed to investigate the impact of early group childcare on child development using data from the Japan Environment and Children's Study. This prospective cohort study enrolled participants between January 2011 and March 2014. The Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ)-3 was used to obtain data regarding group childcare and other factors. The participants were divided into two groups: the early childcare group (exposed group) and the non-early childcare group (control group). The ASQ-3 scores in all five domains, i.e., communication, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem-solving, and personal-social skills, were compared. A total of 39,894 participants were included in this study. The exposed and control groups comprised 13,674 and 26,220 participants, respectively. The number of participants with the ASQ-3 values below the cut-off value did not differ significantly between the two groups in any of the five domains at six months of age. However, the number of participants with the ASQ-3 values below the cut-off values was significantly lower in the exposed group for all five domains at three years of age. The difference between the two groups, especially in terms of communication and personal-social skills, increased with age.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2024-11-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-81343-9
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Early Childhood Education and Development
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.19
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article

Group childcare has a positive impact on child development from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

Nobuo Yaegashi, Koichi Hashimoto, Hidekuni Inadera, Masayuki Shima et al.
2 citations
Scientific Reports
Early Childhood Education and Development
4.19
article

Group childcare has a positive impact on child development from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

Nobuo Yaegashi, Koichi Hashimoto, Hidekuni Inadera, Masayuki Shima, Tomohisa Suzuki, Reiko Kishi, Yukihiro Ohya, Shin Yamazaki, Keita Kanamori, Zentaro Yamagata, Takeo Nakayama, Chisato Mori, Narufumi Suganuma, Seiji Kageyama, Michihiro Kamijima, Tomotaka Sobue, Chiharu Ota, Shuichi Ito, Takahiko Katoh, Shoichi Ohga
article en
2 citations

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of early group childcare on child development using data from the Japan Environment and Children's Study. This prospective cohort study enrolled participants between January 2011 and March 2014. The Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ)-3 was used to obtain data regarding group childcare and other factors. The participants were divided into two groups: the early childcare group (exposed group) and the non-early childcare group (control group). The ASQ-3 scores in all five domains, i.e., communication, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem-solving, and personal-social skills, were compared. A total of 39,894 participants were included in this study. The exposed and control groups comprised 13,674 and 26,220 participants, respectively. The number of participants with the ASQ-3 values below the cut-off value did not differ significantly between the two groups in any of the five domains at six months of age. However, the number of participants with the ASQ-3 values below the cut-off values was significantly lower in the exposed group for all five domains at three years of age. The difference between the two groups, especially in terms of communication and personal-social skills, increased with age.

Scientific ReportsVol. 14(1)
Fukushima Medical University (JP), Kyushu University (JP), Chiba University (JP), National Institute for Environmental Studies (JP), Tohoku University (JP), Hokkaido University (JP), Kyoto University (JP), Tohoku University Hospital (JP), Kani Tono Hospital (JP), Tottori University Hospital (JP), National Center For Child Health and Development (JP), University of Toyama (JP), University of Yamanashi (JP), Kōchi University (JP), Hyogo University (JP), Yokohama City University (JP), Kumamoto University (JP), The University of Osaka (JP)
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Early Childhood Education and Development
4.19
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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