Hyman Rodman’s research while affiliated with University of North Carolina at Greensboro and other places

Children in self‐care (latchkey) arrangements have been portrayed as a population at risk, and this has recently led to research investigations, social policy discussions, and legislative proposals. This study examines selected characteristics of mother, child, and family, and the amount of time children spend in self‐care, for their influences on the use of the telephone to communicate with children in self‐care. The analysis builds on earlier studies that indicate the importance of time, child's age, and mother's employment for understanding the growing phenomenon of self‐care. The results of multiple regression analyses are presented and discussed. As expected, the age of the child is the most important variable in predicting the length of time spent in self‐care. The age of the child and the length of time spent in self‐care are the strongest predictors of telephone communication with children in self‐care arrangements.

This article delineates a three-stage process of reactions to social and economic changes that threaten traditional values. In the first stage, public and professional reactions are predominantly negative; in the second stage, predominantly ambivalent; and in the third stage, predominantly accepting. This three-stage process is used to analyze the reactions to increases in maternal employment and day care. A key issue for future investigation is whether the same process represents a predictable sequence of reactions to other social and economic changes that threaten traditional values.

Many children of working parents regularly care for themselves after school. Questionable findings about the danger of children's self-care (latchkey) arrangements are being used in an effort to obtain public funding for after-school care. The use of this evidence poses a dilemma for feminists and others. Arguing that latchkey children are at risk may improve the chances of receiving funds for child care. But it could also lead to unintended negative consequences for women. Emphasizing the risks of self-care could result in greater social opposition to working mothers. From a feminist perspective, the best argument for after-school care would be one that focuses on the special needs and circumstances of working parents, and does not rely on suspect data that suggest negative consequences of self-care for children's development. Copyright 1989 by The Policy Studies Organization.

Many school-age children spend time in self-care (latchkey) arrangements while their parents are away from home. Analyses of data collected through a magazine-distributed questionnaire identified several variables that contribute to mothers' satisfaction with self-care arrangements. These variables can be subsumed under two general categories: (a) child's age and (b) the mother's and child's separate social networks. We discuss the implications for practitioners and policymakers.

This Comment responds to an article by Steinberg (1986) in which he stressed the desirability of investigating a wide variety of after-school experiences when examining consequences for latchkey (self-care) children. In presenting his results, he inadvertently confounded latchkey children with adolescents who spend time at a friend's house or who "hang out" with friends without adult supervision. Steinberg reported that these adolescents showed greater susceptibility to peer pressure to engage in antisocial activities. We point out that these adolescents do not fit the usual conceptualization of latchkey children and that Steinberg's study may lend support to practitioners and policy makers who assume negative latchkey consequences in the absence of research evidence. To avoid future confusion we indicate the need for a definition of latchkey children and offer a tentative definition.

This comment responds to an article by Steinberg (1986) in which he stressed the desirability of investigating a wide variety of after-school experiences when examining consequences for latchkey (self-care) children. In presenting his results, he inadvertently confounded latchkey children with adolescents who spent time at a friend's house or who "hang out" with friends without adult supervision. Steinberg reported that these adolescents showed greater susceptibility to peer pressure to engage in antisocial activities. We point out that these adolescents do not fit the usual conceptualization of latchkey children and that Steinberg's study may lend support to practitioners and policy makers who assume negative latchkey consequences in the absence of research evidence. To avoid future confusion we indicate the need for a definition of latchkey children and offer a tentative definition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

A tremendous surge of interest in school-age child care has arisen within the past few years. This includes state and federal efforts for legislation to support school-age child care, as well as community efforts to set up after-school programs and to organize telephone help services for children who spend time alone. Many of these efforts are based on the presumed negative consequences of the so-called latchkey arrangement. However, very little is known about the consequences of the latchkey arrangement for children’s functioning.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in self-care ("latchkey") arrangements, but virtually no research has been done on time in self-care. We investigated factors associated with the amount of time children spend in self-care. Using a magazine-distributed questionnaire, we obtained responses from 1,194 mothers who had children under age 14 in self-care to some extent. Child's age and mother's hours per week of paid employment were significantly related to greater use of self-care arrangements. Mother's frequency of attendance at religious services was related to lesser use of self-care. Mother's marital status showed a less clear relationship to self-care use.

Although an increasing number of studies based on a magazine‐distributed questionnaire (MDQ) are being done, no formal discussion of the method can be found in the literature. Several problems are posed by MDQ research. Because of the problem of self‐selection bias, findings cannot be generalized and it is therefore essential to recognize and emphasize the exploratory role of the method. This paper is the first formal discussion of the potential efficiency of the magazine‐distributed questionnaire (MDQ) method for exploratory research in the social sciences. Easy access to respondents, low cost, speedy results, and confidentiality are potential advantages. Several aspects of the method for social science research are illustrated using information from a research project on self‐care children.

Compared 26 4th-grade and 22 7th-grade self-care (latchkey) children with 26 4th-grade and 22 7th-grade matched children in adult care to investigate whether the latchkey arrangement has negative consequences for children. Ss were interviewed on demographic and childcare arrangement data and administered the Self-Esteem Inventory, the Personal Reaction Survey, and the Behavior Rating Form. There were no significant differences found between the 2 matched samples on any of the measures. Results suggest that the growing public and professional concern about the negative effects of self-care arrangements may not be warranted. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)