Does childcare have an impact on the quality of parent–child interaction? Evidence from post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan Nazim N. Habibov School of Social Work, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, N9B 3P4 abstract article info Article history: Received 27 June 2012 Received in revised form 30 August 2012 Accepted 8 September 2012 Available online 14 September 2012 Keywords: Quasi-experimental evaluation Child care Day care Central Asia This study uses a quasi-experimental evaluation of national surveys in post-Soviet Central Asia to quantify the impact of children's enrollment into childcare programs on the quality of parent–child interactions. The main finding is that the presence of childcare for a family is positively and significantly associated with an increase in the quality of parent–child interactions in every country under investigation. In Kyrgyzstan, enrollment in childcare is associated with a 5.6 unit increase in the index of quality of parent–child interactions. Similarly, in Tajikistan childcare enrollment is associated with a 6.5 unit increase in the index, while in Uzbekistan with a 3.2 unit increase. Several other variables are also important in explaining parent–child interaction. Living in rural areas increases the quality of parent–child interactions in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, while an increase in the number of children under 14 in the household has an opposite effect. Being a Russian- speaker is associated with an increase in the quality of parent–child interactions in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Lastly, an increase in the mother's and children's ages is associated with lower levels of interaction quality in Tajikistan, but the magnitude of this effect is relatively small. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The positive effects of parent–child interactions have repeatedly been demonstrated through the research literature. High quality of parent– child interaction is associated with secure attachments between children and parents which in turn lead to psychosocial well-being and resilience (Dallaire & Weinraub, 2007). It is also associated with improvement in problem solving skills and general cognitive outcomes which in turn lead to higher academic achievement (Maulik & Darmstadt, 2009). Like- wise, parent–child interaction, through the form of telling stories and singing together are predictors of enhanced language development (Smith & Gibbard, 2011). Finally, higher levels of parent–child interac- tions are also a predictor of improved non-cognitive skills, for instance, motivation and enthusiasm (Carneiro & Heckman, 2003). Due to the well-documented positive effects of parent–child interaction, promoting high-quality parent–child interaction is seen as one of the most important objectives of childcare (Mustard, 2007). However, there is no consensus on whether childcare has positive or negative effects on child–parent interaction. On the one hand, children in childcare are at risk for not developing secure attachments to their parents, which can subsequently compromise their psychosocial de- velopment (Belsky, 1986, 1990). Indeed, the data from the Carolina Abecedarian Project and the Perry Preschool Project has demonstrated that childcare enrollment is associated with lower levels of parent–child interactions, which in turn lead to lower levels of child socio-emotional development (Schady & Araujo, 2006). This finding is further confirmed by data from the Panel of Income Dynamics which found that childcare enrollment, and thus being away from parents, is associated with lower levels of cognitive and non-cognitive skills (Carneiro & Heckman, 2003). Similar negative effects of childcare, as it relates to parent–child interactions, have also been found by other authors (Harvey, 1999; Scarr, 1997). On the other hand, children's peer interactions as well as their inter- actions with childcare caregivers may significantly alter their patterns of socialization with their parents at home since children may require and receive a higher quality of interaction with their parents, and parent- ing practices may be influenced and altered as parents observe caregiver– child interactions in daycare (Belsky, Steinberg, & Walker, 1982; Howes, 1987; Vandell, 1979). The data from project CARE, the Infant Health and Development Program, the Early Head Start Program, and the Michigan School Readiness Program all reported better parent–child interaction for children enrolled in childcare (Blau & Currie, 2004; Schweinhart, 2007; Sparling, Ramey, & Ramey, 2007). Along the same line, Craig (2005) found that the parents of childcare children were able to suc- cessfully maintain their time of interaction with their children even if they had full time employment, while Edwards, Logue, Loehr, and Roth (1986) reported that homes of childcare-enrolled children became more child-centered over time, leading to higher quality parent–child interaction. In light of this inconclusive evidence, the objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of childcare on the quality of parent–child interactions Children and Youth Services Review 34 (2012) 2367–2373 E-mail address: nnh@uwindsor.ca. 0190-7409/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.09.004 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Children and Youth Services Review journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth