Impact of Extended Childcare on Japanese Children’s School Life

 1. The Nature of the Issue and Objectives

  In Japan, extended-day care for young children has rapidly expanded since the implementation of the Angel Plan.While numerous studies have been conducted overseas regarding the impact of childcare on children’s development, and research is progressing in certain areas domestically, a comprehensive understanding of the issue has yet to be established. Therefore, by organizing the issues identified in various studies, this paper examines the impact of extended-day care for young children on children’s mental health development—specifically, the relationship with various issues in school life—from the perspective of the connection between such care and attachment formation.

 2. Current Status of Extended-Hour Childcare for Young Children

  Generally, early childhood care refers to care for children aged 0 to 2 years. The current coverage rate in Japan is 44.4%, compared to an OECD average of 35.9% and an EU average of 34.2%. (*1)

 Regarding childcare hours, Japan has established 11 hours per day as the standard, and over 95% of childcare facilities offer extended care beyond this. Furthermore, many parents routinely utilize approximately 11 hours of care daily, which includes an 8-hour workday plus a 1-hour break, plus the 2 hours required for commuting to and from work. Since a 5-day workweek is standard, this amounts to approximately 55 hours of childcare per week.

  In contrast, the OECD average is 31.5 hours per week, and the EU average is 30.6 hours per week.

 In other words, childcare for children aged 0 to 2 is more widespread in Japan than the average in Western countries, and childcare hours are significantly longer.

 3. Surveys on the Impact of Childcare in Western Countries

  The fact that early childhood care is not as widespread in Western countries as it is in Japan, and that care hours are shorter, is partly due to values that prioritize traditional family structures. However, it is also influenced by the accumulation of evidence from various studies and its incorporation into policy.

  In the “Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) Project” conducted by Sylva et al. (2004) at the Institute of Education, University of London, a longitudinal study involving 3,171 participants examined the impact of pre-school education and childcare on child development. The study revealed that children who had received childcare for an extended period starting from age 2 or younger exhibited slightly higher levels of antisocial behavior.It is also noted that while this tendency is mitigated by receiving high-quality early childhood education from age 3 onward, it does not disappear entirely. (*2)

  Similar studies were conducted in parallel in rural areas of Northern Ireland and Norway, and et al. also reported similar results.

  In the United States, the NICHD (2006) conducted a longitudinal study of approximately 1,000 children from birth through the start of formal schooling. The results showed that the longer children spent in childcare facilities between 3 and 54 months of age, and the longer their daily childcare hours, the lower their levels of cooperation and obedience became. They also exhibited more aggressive behavior, experienced more conflicts and disputes with teachers upon entering elementary school, and were more likely to be identified by teachers as having behavioral problems.

  When examined by type of care, children with more experience in childcare facilities tend to exhibit more disobedience and aggressive problem behaviors compared to those in family-based care or with babysitters. According to evaluations by childcare providers, children who spend 30 or more hours per week in childcare facilities until the age of four and a half tend to exhibit more problem behaviors. (*3)

 In the Canadian province of Quebec, childcare center capacity has been expanded since 1997 to make services affordable regardless of parents’ employment status, but this has had various effects on children’s development. Baker et al. (2019) conducted a study comparing children in Quebec with those in other Canadian provinces and revealed the following: While there were almost no differences in cognitive abilities, negative effects were observed in non-cognitive areas. The differences observed were, first, higher levels of anxiety and aggression among 2- to 3-year-olds.Furthermore, between the ages of 5 and 9, hyperactivity, anxiety, aggression, and indirect aggression were observed, with anxiety and aggression showing a stronger impact than at ages 2–3.Furthermore, regarding the impact on adolescents, negative effects were observed on health and life satisfaction. Gender differences were observed in these effects: among 5–9-year-olds, aggression had a particularly strong impact on boys, while prosocial behavior deteriorated among girls. The crime rates for the generation that began participating in this program have increased significantly compared to other provinces, both in terms of arrest rates and conviction rates. (*4)

  A common finding across all studies in Western countries is that results suggest negative effects on non-cognitive aspects—particularly mental health—such as increased aggression associated with longer-term or extended use of childcare facilities from an early age.

 4. The Relationship Between Attachment and Emotional Regulation

  The first area of concern regarding the impact on children’s mental health development is attachment. While the formation of attachment is influenced by the caregiver’s presence and style of interaction, it is known that several patterns exist.Ainsworth et al. (1978) classified attachment styles using the Strange Situation procedure, and their results revealed three distinct types: A (avoidant), B (secure), and C (ambivalent). Subsequently, Main et al. (1990) identified a fourth pattern, D (disorganized). (*5) (*6)

  Furthermore, Boris et al. (1999) proposed a five-stage model, arguing that these patterns should be viewed as existing along a clinical continuum ranging from secure attachment to attachment disorders. According to this model, Level 1 is the secure type, Level 2 is the avoidant and resistant types, Level 3 is the disorganized type, Level 4 is attachment-based distortion, and Level 5 is attachment disorder. (*7)

  Based on this model, Yamashita (2021) points out that levels 2 and above are associated with clinical problems such as anxiety, depression, destructive behavior, and self-harm. (*8)

  Meins et al. (2001), Slade et al. (2005), and Zeegers et al. (2017) have noted that children’s attachment formation is strongly associated with caregivers’ mentalization.Furthermore, Senehi et al. (2018), Schwarzer et al. (2021), and Álvarez et al. (2022) have noted that caregivers’ mentalization is associated with children’s emotional regulation.Furthermore, Stifter et al. (2014), Parada-Fernández et al. (2021), and Obeldobel et al. (2022) have demonstrated that attachment security is associated with emotional regulation ability. (*9)( *10)( *11)( *12)( *13)( *14)( *15)( *16)( *17)

  In other words, it can be said that the absence of caregivers or the nature of their involvement is related to attachment stability, and that unstable attachment leads to deficits in emotional regulation and clinical problems.

 5. The Relationship Between Attachment and Childcare

  Regarding attachment, research is ongoing into the effects of being separated from a specific caregiver and being cared for by others.According to Belsky’s (1988) study, it has been shown that when children receive more than 20 hours per week of care from non-primary caregivers, a greater number of them develop an insecure attachment style. Furthermore, a study by Hazen et al. (2014) demonstrated that receiving more than 60 hours per week of care from non-primary caregivers leads to an exponential increase in the risk of developing a disorganized attachment style. (*18)( *19)

  While there are many causes for attachment to become unstable, childcare hours are one such factor. Furthermore, while the disorganized attachment style is typically observed in children who have experienced abuse or neglect, it is evident that extended childcare carries a risk comparable to that.

 6. The Impact of Attachment on School Life

  While attachment formed during infancy and early childhood influences subsequent mental health stability, it is becoming increasingly clear that it also has a significant impact on school life.

 In recent years, the rise in school refusal has become a growing concern; Igarashi et al. (2004), Uekita (2006), Kang et al. (2010), Sakita (2016), Hayashida et al. (2018), and Yasuhara et al. (2020) have each pointed out that unstable attachment to caregivers contributes to school refusal.(*20)( *21)( *22)( *23)( *24)( *25)

  Furthermore, the rise in bullying has become a significant issue. Yanagida et al. (2019) compared the risk of bullying across attachment styles among junior high school students and found that, compared to the secure group, attachment instability was associated with a higher risk of both perpetrating and being a victim of bullying. (*26)

  Regarding the association between attachment and self-harm, Ohira et al. (2014) noted that unstable attachment styles are observed among college students with a history of self-harm. (*27)

  Regarding the association between attachment and suicide, Adam (1994) proposed a developmental model of suicide behavior and attachment:and research is progressing in various countries. Miniati et al. (2017) compared and analyzed 23 studies investigating the association between attachment and suicide conducted worldwide, finding that suicidal ideation and suicide attempts result from the interaction between the emergence of signs and symptoms associated with different psychopathological domains and the long-term presence of insecure attachment patterns. (*28) (*29)

 7. Summary

  Japanese schools are currently facing a worsening of various problems, including school refusal, bullying, suicide, and classroom breakdown. While it cannot be said that all of these causes stem solely from issues of attachment security resulting from Japan’s exceptionally early and prolonged childcare, given the extent of the established associations, it is difficult to consider them unrelated.

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 This paper is based on a paper presented at the 35th Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Early Childhood Education in 2025, with a bibliography added. (*)

 (*)

 Hajime Sugawara, “The Impact of Long-Hour Childcare at an Early Age on Children’s Mental Health Development (Part 2): Correlation with Various School-Related Problems,” 2025, Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of the Japan Society for Early Childhood Education, pp. 74–75

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References

 (*1)

 OECD FAMILY DATABASE: Updated: June 2024

 (*2)

 Kathy Sylva, Edward Melhuish, Pam Sammons, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, and Brenda Taggart, The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project: Technical Paper 12: The Final Report—Effective Pre-School Education, EPPE Project, Institute of Education, University of London, 2004

 (*3)

 The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, Findings for Children up to Age 4½ Years, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2006

 (*4)

 Michael Baker, Jonathan Gruber, Kevin Milligan, “The Long-Run Impacts of a Universal Child Care Program,” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol. 11, No. 3, August 2019, pp. 1–26

 (*5)

 M. D. S. Ainsworth, M. Blehar, E. Waters, S. Wall, *Patterns of Attachment*, 1978, Hillsdale,

 NJ: Erlbaum

 (*6)

 M. Main, E. Hesse, “Parents’ Unresolved Traumatic Experiences Are Related to Infant Disorganized Attachment Status: Is Frightened and/or Frightening Parental Behavior the Linking Mechanism?”, 1990, psycnet.apa.org

 (*7)

 Neil W. Boris, Charles H. Zeanah, Disturbances and Disorders of Attachment in Infancy: An Overview, Infant Mental Health Journal, Volume 20(1), 1999, pp. 1–9

 (*8)

 Hiroshi Yamashita, “Insights from Attachment Research Applied to Clinical Practice,” Science of the Mind 216, March 2021, pp. 23–29

 (*9)

 Meins E., Fernyhough C., Fradley E., Tuckey M., “Rethinking Maternal Sensitivity: Mothers’ Comments on Infants’ Mental Processes Predict Security of Attachment at 12 Months,” The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, Vol. 42, No. 5, July 2001, pp. 637–648

 (*10)

 A. Slade, J. Grienenberger, E. Bernbach, D. Levy, A. Locker, “Maternal Reflective Functioning, Attachment, and the Transmission Gap: A Preliminary Study,” *Attachment & Human Development*, September 2005, 7(3): 283–298

(*11)

 Zeegers, M. A. J., Colonnesi, C., Stams, G.-J. J. M., & Meins, E., Mind matters: A meta-analysis on parental mentalization and sensitivity as predictors of infant–parent attachment. Psychological Bulletin, 2017, 143(12), 1245–1272

 (*12)

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 (*16)

 Parada-Fernández, P., Herrero-Fernández, D., Oliva-Macías, M., & Rohwer, H., Analysis of the mediating effect of mentalization on the relationship between attachment styles and emotion dysregulation. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 2021, 62(3), 312–320

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 Nancy L. Hazen, Sydney D. Allen, Caroline Heaton Christopher, Tomotaka Umemura, and Deborah B. Jacobvitz, “Very extensive nonmaternal care predicts mother–infant attachment disorganization: Convergent evidence from two samples,” Development and Psychopathology, 2014, pp. 1–13

 (*20)

 Tetsuya Igarashi and Hisako Hagiwara. The Relationship Between School Refusal Tendencies in Junior High School Students and Attachment to Their Father and Mother in Early Childhood, Journal of Educational Psychology, 2004, 52(3), pp. 264–276

 (*21)

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 (*24)

Misaki Hayashida, Mitsuru Kurokawa, and Yuko Kida, “The Influence of Attachment to Parents and Satisfaction with Teacher and Peer Relationships on School Adjustment,” Journal of Educational Psychology, 2018, 66(2), pp. 127–135.

 (*25)

 Naomi Yasuhara and Takako Shindo, “The Effects of Attachment to Parents and Satisfaction with Friendships on Tends to Skip School and School Attendance Behavior Among Junior High School Students,” Proceedings of the 68th Annual Conference of the Okayama Psychological Society, 2020, pp. 33–34

 (*26)

 Michiko Yanagida and Ryuta Kanemaru, “The Relationship Between Attachment Styles and Bullying Behavior Among Junior High School Students: An Attempt to Develop a New Bullying Questionnaire,” Bulletin of the Faculty of Education, Ibaraki University (Educational Sciences) No. 68, 2019, pp. 533–552

 (*27)

 Yasuko Ohira, Takashi Oishi, Ken’o Suzuki, Makoto Matsuno, Masahiko Horiuchi, Kuniyoshi Suzuki, Self-harm and Interpersonal Relationships Among University Students: A Study of the Relationship with Attachment Styles and Emotional Imagery, Bulletin of the Faculty of Child Development, Toyama International University, Vol. 5, 2014, pp. 11–18

 (*28)

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 (*29)

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