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Child development

Early Childhood Education and Care Mitigates Associations between Maternal Psychological Distress and Child Social and Emotional Problems

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Children who participate in center-based or family-based Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Finland may experience a protective effect against the negative impact of maternal psychological distress on child social and emotional development. The FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, which drew from a sample of 1,191 children aged 24.54 months, found that ECEC participation mitigates the associations between maternal symptoms and child social and emotional problems. This study reinforces the understanding of ECEC's potential buffering role in at-risk families, particularly in Nordic countries with high-quality ECEC and high enrollment rates.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study examined the moderating role of ECEC participation on the associations between maternal long-term prenatal, postnatal, or current psychological distress and child social and emotional problems and competence.
  • A total of 1,191 children participated in the study, with 47.4% being girls, and mothers filled in self-reports of their long-term psychological distress during pregnancy, postpartum, and the evaluation of their child's social and emotional problems and competence at the child age of 2 years.
  • The results showed that ECEC participation played a protective role in the relation between current maternal psychological distress and child social and emotional problems.
  • Associations between maternal symptoms and children's social and emotional problems were attenuated for children who participated in center-based ECEC (b = -0.37, [-0.64, -0.09], p = 0.008), or family-based ECEC (b = -0.75, [-1.11, -0.40], p = 0.000).
  • The study concluded that ECEC participation in Finland has a potential buffering role in at-risk families, especially in Nordic countries with high-quality ECEC and high enrollment rates.

Statistics:

  • 1,191 children participated in the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study.
  • 47.4% of the children were girls.
  • The children aged 24.54 months (SD = 0.59) when the study began.
  • Mothers filled in self-reports of their long-term psychological distress during pregnancy, postpartum, and the evaluation of their child's social and emotional problems and competence at the child age of 2 years.
  • Center-based ECEC participation attenuated the associations between maternal symptoms and children's social and emotional problems by b = -0.37 ([-0.64, -0.09], p = 0.008).
  • Family-based ECEC participation attenuated the associations between maternal symptoms and children's social and emotional problems by b = -0.75 ([-1.11, -0.40], p = 0.000).

Sources:

  • Participation in early childhood education and care in Finland mitigates the associations between maternal psychological distress and child social and emotional problems at age two. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2025.
  • NewsRx. Reports from University of Turku Add New Data to Findings in Education (Participation in early childhood education and care in Finland mitigates the associations between maternal psychological distress and child social and emotional problems at ...). Psychology & Psychiatry Journal. November 1, 2025; p 539.

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