Harriet, I was intersted in looking at (P) children under 5 yrs of age (I) who receive child care outside of the home (C) compared to those who receive care by their primary care taker (O) and how the two groups compare in terms of academic achievement/sociobehavioral development/ medical health.

Do you have any recommendations for good studies or reviews on the topic?

This topic is difficult, as there are so many variables, most working at odds with each other. Some sub-groups do better at some ages in group settings, but controlling for quality of parenting, quality of out of home care and percentage of time in each becomes difficult. Generally younger kids (up to 3) are thought to benefit from as much one-to-one as possible, but older kids still need a fair amount. Beyond some generalizations, I don't think there is such a thing as a controlled study of this whole topic.

I did speak directly with the writer of this question, and we discussed her specific case. Yours, Harriet McGurk