Security of children's relationships with nonparental care providers: A meta-analysis

Meta-analysis aggregated results of 40 investigations involving 2,867 children who averaged 29.6 (SD=8.6) months of age when their attachments to care providers were assessed using either the Strange Situation (SS) or the Attachment Q-Set (AQS). As opposed to parents, secure attachments to nonparental care providers were less likely (using SS) or equally likely (using AQS), respectively. Secure child-care provider attachments were more likely in home- than center-based care, when the children were assessed longer after enrollment, and when they were girls. Whereas care providers' sensitivity to individual children predicted attachment security only in the small groups that characterize home-based settings, group-related sensitivity was a reliable predictor of secure child-care provider attachment, especially in child care centers.