Aggression and Noncompliance among Swedish Children in Centre-based Care, Family Day Care, and Home Care

Abstract

The relations between individual, family, and child care characteristics and children's aggressive and noncompliant behaviours were examined in this study of 140 first-born Swedish children assessed at 16,28,40, and 80 months of age. All of the parents involved in the study had attempted to enrol their children in centre-based day care, but some were accepted instead into family day care settings, while others remained in the exclusive care of their parents. Composite measures of aggression and noncompliance were constructed using data obtained from multiple sources (i.e. mothers, teachers, observers). Child care arrangements and histories were not associated with levels of aggression or noncompliance. Multiple regression analyses suggested that the quality of home care was the best predictor of both aggressive and noncompliant behaviour. Boys were more aggressive than girls, and children with more controlling parents were more noncompliant. Individual differences in aggression (but not noncompliance) were moderately stable over time. Aggression and noncompliance were modestly but reliably related to one another. These results suggest that alternative care of high quality does not lead to noncompliance and aggression.