영아의 어린이집 적응 추이의 유형 및 예측 요인에 대한 단기종단연구: 성장혼합모형과 잠재계층분석을 활용하여

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine underlying types of developmental trajectories of adaptation to child care among infants and toddlers. This study also aimed to identify latent classes in their child care adaptation types in order to find predictors that account for individual differences. Methods: Participants were 420 mothers of infants and toddlers and 123 teachers. The levels of child care adaptation of participating infants and toddlers were rated monthly from early April to June, 2019. The collected data were analyzed using growth mixture modeling, latent class analysis and multinominal logistic analysis. Results: The results of growth trajectories of child care adaptation showed there were two to four latent groups by dimension of child care adaptation. Also, the groups of individual dimensions of child care adaptation were classified into three latent classes, which were ‘complying and positive group , ‘negative group , and ‘individualized group. Multinominal logistic analysis revealed that children s age, gender, and temperament differentiated the three latent classes of adaptation to child care. Conclusion/Implications: The results show individual characteristics that infants and toddlers possess should be prudently considered in order for successful adaptation to child care.