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Cumulative risk, center-based childcare and socio-emotional difficulties in early childhood: Evidence from Hungary

Zsuzsanna Veroszta et al.

Demographic Research2026https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2026.54.1article
ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

BACKGROUNDAlthough center-based childcare attendance under age 3 is widespread in Europe, there is mixed evidence on its impact on children's socio-emotional well-being. OBJECTIVEThis study examines whether attendance at Hungarian center-based childcare and the timing of entry into such care influenced the development of socio-emotional difficulties in children growing up during the COVID-19 pandemic.We pay particular attention to the impact of cumulative risks and whether enrollment in center-based care can compensate for their adverse effects. METHODSUsing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as a measure, we examine the effects of cumulative sociodemographic risk and center-based childcare attendance on socioemotional difficulties at age 3 in 2021-2022.Data were drawn from the Cohort '18 Growing Up in Hungary study (n = 5,511).Multivariate associations were tested through logistic regression models.With its follow-up design, the study controls for unobserved heterogeneity and supports causal interpretations from temporal order. RESULTSCumulative risk, independent of all other factors, clearly and strongly increased the odds of socio-emotional difficulties.While internalizing symptoms were reduced by both early (OR = 0.55) and late (OR = 0.63) entry into center-based childcare, externalizing

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2026.54.1

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@article{zsuzsanna2026,
  title        = {{Cumulative risk, center-based childcare and socio-emotional difficulties in early childhood: Evidence from Hungary}},
  author       = {Zsuzsanna Veroszta et al.},
  journal      = {Demographic Research},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2026.54.1},
}

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Cumulative risk, center-based childcare and socio-emotional difficulties in early childhood: Evidence from Hungary

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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