reported high levels of fear. Peter Mulhall reported
that middle school and junior high school students
who were home alone after school two or more days
per week were four times more likely to have gotten
drunk in the previous month than those who had pa-
rental supervision five or more times a week. Merilyn
B. Woods reported that low-income urban fifth grad-
ers who were unsupervised had more academic and
social problems than similar children of higher in-
come who were in after-school supervision. Lynne
Steinberg found that fifth to ninth graders who were
more removed from adult supervision were more sus-
ceptible to peer pressure to commit antisocial acts
than were their supervised peers. Lorene C. Quay
found that latchkey children revealed more loneliness
than did children who went home to their mother.
John M. Diamond and his colleagues found that un-
supervised boys in the fifth and sixth grades scored
lower on achievement tests than supervised boys.
Javaid Kaiser found similar results.
Other studies found no differences between self-
care and supervised children on a number of vari-
ables. Nancy L. Galambos and James Garbarino
found that supervised and unsupervised fifth and sev-
enth graders in rural settings did not differ on school
adjustment, school orientation, achievement, and le-
vels of fear. Stephen C. Messer and his colleagues re-
ported no differences in personality tests and SAT
scores between college students who had previously
been in self-care and those who had been in super-
vised care. J. L. Richardson and colleagues found that
stress levels of unsupervised students did not predict
substance use. Hyman Rodman, David J. Pratto, and
Rosemary S. Nelson found no differences among su-
pervised and unsupervised children on measures of
self-esteem, internal or external locus of control, and
a behavior rating scale for urban and rural children
of racial diversity. Deborah Lowe Vandell and Janaki
Ramanan reported that children in the care of single
mothers after school had lower scores on Peabody
Picture Vocabulary Tests and higher ratings for anti-
social behaviors than children in other types of adult
after-school supervision.
The type of after-school activities in which chil-
dren are engaged also plays an important role in their
adjustment. Jill K. Posner and Deborah Lowe Vandell
found that children involved in coached sports and
after-school academic activities were better adjusted
in the fifth grade than children who spent their time
after school watching television and hanging out.
Programs
A wide variety of after-school programs have been
lauded in the literature. These programs vary on sev-
eral dimensions. Some programs focus on contact
with working parents by telephone or computer.
Some child-care facilities provide video monitoring of
children, with the video stream transmitted to the
parent’s work computer. This technology could cer-
tainly be adapted to the home. Other programs stress
after-school sitters in the home or neighbors who reg-
ularly look in on older children and youth. Many pro-
grams emphasize adult-supervised activities in the
community such as sports, drama, dance, music, aca-
demics, and recreation. It appears that these pro-
grams vary in quality, cost, and availability in any
given community. Too often parents with sufficient
resources can provide high-quality and varied adult-
supervised activities after school, whereas those with
limited resources do not have these same possibilities.Conclusions
Most communities have before- and after-school
supervised programs, but these opportunities may
not be financially available for those who need them
most, namely children who have single mothers and
dual-worker low-income families. Parents must not
only be aware of and have access to quality adult-
supervised programs, but also know the particular
strengths and needs of their child. Such strengths and
needs change as the child matures. Children under
age twelve should not be left alone in self-care or in
the care of those who cannot adequately provide for
their needs and safety. For mature adolescents, par-
tial care and periodic supervision may be sufficient.
Reevaluation should occur regularly. It is much less
expensive to provide these programs for children
than to deal with the consequences in adulthood.See also: STREET CHILDREN; WORKING FAMILIES
Bibliography
Berns, Roberta M. Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and
Support, 4th edition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace, 1997.
Diamond, John M., Sudesh Kataria, and Stephen C. Messer.
‘‘Latchkey Children: A Pilot Study Investigating Behavior and
Academic Achievement.’’ Child and Youth Care Quarterly 18
(1989):131–140.
Galambos, Nancy L., and James Garbarino. ‘‘Adjustment of Uns-
upervised Children in a Rural Ecology.’’ Journal of Genetic Psy-
chology 14 (1985):227–231.
Hoffman, Lois W. ‘‘Effects of Maternal Employment on the Child:
Review of the Research.’’ Developmental Psychology 10
(1974):204–228.
Kaiser, Javaid. ‘‘The Role of Family Configuration, Income, and
Gender in the Academic Achievement of Young Self-Care
Children.’’ Early Child Development and Care 97 (1994):91–105.
Lamorey, Suzanne, Bryan E. Robinson, Bobbie H. Rowland, and
Mick Coleman. Latchkey Kids: Unlocking Doors for Children and
Their Families, 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1999.
Long, Thomas J., and Lynette Long. ‘‘Latchkey Children: The
Child’s View of Self Care.’’ ERIC Database no. ED211229
(1981).234 LATCHKEY CHILDREN