title: Examining change in cortisol patterns during the 10-week transition to a new child-care setting.
abstract: The transition to out-of-home child care brings a number of challenges for children, including complex peer interactions and extended separations from parents. Children often show a midmorning to afternoon rise in cortisol on child-care days, compared to the typical diurnal decline seen at home. Changes in cortisol were examined in a wide age range of children (N = 168; 1.2 months to 8 years, M = 3.27 years) during the 10-week transition to a new child-care setting. Structural equation modeling using latent change scores showed that children experienced an increase in the cortisol rise at child care across the 10-week transition. Furthermore, child age moderated the difference between home- and child-care cortisol patterns. Findings are placed in a developmental context, and potential implications and future directions are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bernard
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Peloso
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Laurenceau
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dozier
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care / Q000523:psychology*; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone