Child care quality and children's cortisol in Basque Country and the Netherlands

A cross-country comparison of children's cortisol levels at child care was performed in relation to their cortisol levels at home and the quality and quantity of child care they received. Participants were toddlers visiting child care centers in Spanish Basque Country (N = 60) and the Netherlands (N = 25) with substantial variation in structural child care quality (group sizes, childcaregiver ratios). Salivary cortisol was measured at mid-morning and mid-afternoon, both at child care and at home. Children's actual experiences in child care (global quality), as measured with the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised edition (ECERS-R), did not differ significantly across the two countries. Overall, children did not produce more cortisol at child care than at home. Results suggest that factors other than structural quality and quantity of care are responsible for cortisol diurnal changes. Global quality matters in explaining cortisol diurnal change in children visiting child care centers.