Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Nesta tese, pretendemos investigar a relação entre ciclo de vida, posição socioeconômica e disparidades sociais no Brasil. Inicialmente, apresentamos trabalhos brasileiros e estrangeiros que descrevem associações entre a posição socioeconômica dos indivíduos e o estado de saúde. A abrangência dessa ligação levou sociólogos a sistematizarem uma elegante teoria que trata os recursos socioeconômicos como causas fundamentais do adoecimento e da mortalidade. Fazemos uma exposição relativamente detalhada dessa perspectiva. A apresentação dos dois debates estabelece a justificativa do trabalho e mapeia os espaços na literatura para os quais pretendemos contribuir. No segundo capítulo iniciamos nossa investigação, com o aprofundamento de uma dimensão tida como central no entendimento sociológico da desigualdade: classe social. Esse conceito é tido por pesquisadores, tanto vinculados à sociologia como em outras disciplinas, como uma via explicativa interessante na abordagem das disparidades sociais em saúde. No entanto, essa opinião não é consensual, e vários sociólogos contemporâneos fazem severas críticas à essa dimensão e às teorias que a balizam. Fazemos um aprofundamento nesses debates e uma reflexão sobre sua pertinência para o contexto brasileiro. Balizamos nossas conclusões através de uma investigação que mobiliza métodos e dados inéditos sobre a estrutura ocupacional brasileira. Através da investigação da validade empírica e conceitual de uma das operacionalizações de classe mais comuns na literatura internacional, a tipologia EGP, testamos como características do mercado de trabalho brasileiro se relacionam a essa dimensão. Nossos resultados, atingidos a partir de modelos log-lineares de classes latentes (latent class analysis) mostram que as particularidades do mercado de trabalho brasileiro são importantes na consideração sobre essa variável, mas não inviabilizam sua utilização. Munidos desse resultado, partimos para o último capítulo do trabalho. Nele, aprofundamos a discussão sobre desigualdade e saúde através da apresentação de teorias sobre o ciclo de vida, que informam dois debates específicos que investigamos empiricamente. O primeiro deles diz respeito à acumulação de vantagens e desvantagens ao longo do ciclo de vida e a estruturação das disparidades sociais em saúde. O segundo diz respeito à transmissão intergeracional da desigualdade e a desigualdade em saúde. Apresentamos essas correntes teóricas, que inspiram a elaboração de nossas hipóteses. Junto a elas, adicionamos uma outra hipótese inspirada nas discussões apresentadas nos capítulos anteriores. Nossos resultados demonstram a relevância de abordagens sociológicas para o estudo da desigualdade em saúde. Mostramos como nível educacional e idade interagem na estruturação das disparidades sociais em saúde, evidências indiretas de como as trajetórias sociais proporcionadas pela educação expõe indivíduos a condições que os expõe sua saúde a diferentes tipos de desgaste. Igualmente, mostramos evidências que apontam para como etapas relacionadas à infância e adolescência dos indivíduos têm efeitos sobre seu estado de saúde contemporâneo. Por fim, refletimos sobre os limites da variável de classe para o entendimento da estruturação das disparidades sociais em saúde no Brasil. / The main objective of this dissertation is the investigation of the relationship between the life course, socioeconomic status and health disparities in Brazil. We start by analyzing the literature that identifies the association of health with socioeconomic status. Convinced by the persaviness of this association, sociologists developed a theory that condensates an elegant explanation for this connection. This perspective, called the fundamental causes of diseases and mortality is presented in detail for the Brazilian audience. With the presentation of the literature about health disparities and the discussion about the fundamental causes, we justify the theme of this dissertation: the sociological study of health and health inequalities. In the following chapter, we investigate one of the dimensions that is, supposedly, one of the best ways available in the sociological perspective to study inequality, which is social class. We carefully present analytical perspectives about the theme and then we proceed to an empirical evaluation of the concept. In the last chapter, we make use of the class concept in our empirical evaluation of health disparities in Brazil. Not only we try to disentangle how socioeconomic status and health relate in the country, we also present a new perspective to its interpretation. Discussing life course perspectives, the accumulation of inequality and the intergenerational transmission of health inequality, we complete our analytical and empirical frame. Mobilizing this discussions, we try to show how health is a dimension that can only be understood if time is incorporated in its evaluation.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Nesta tese, pretendemos investigar a relação entre ciclo de vida, posição socioeconômica e disparidades sociais no Brasil. Inicialmente, apresentamos trabalhos brasileiros e estrangeiros que descrevem associações entre a posição socioeconômica dos indivíduos e o estado de saúde. A abrangência dessa ligação levou sociólogos a sistematizarem uma elegante teoria que trata os recursos socioeconômicos como causas fundamentais do adoecimento e da mortalidade. Fazemos uma exposição relativamente detalhada dessa perspectiva. A apresentação dos dois debates estabelece a justificativa do trabalho e mapeia os espaços na literatura para os quais pretendemos contribuir. No segundo capítulo iniciamos nossa investigação, com o aprofundamento de uma dimensão tida como central no entendimento sociológico da desigualdade: classe social. Esse conceito é tido por pesquisadores, tanto vinculados à sociologia como em outras disciplinas, como uma via explicativa interessante na abordagem das disparidades sociais em saúde. No entanto, essa opinião não é consensual, e vários sociólogos contemporâneos fazem severas críticas à essa dimensão e às teorias que a balizam. Fazemos um aprofundamento nesses debates e uma reflexão sobre sua pertinência para o contexto brasileiro. Balizamos nossas conclusões através de uma investigação que mobiliza métodos e dados inéditos sobre a estrutura ocupacional brasileira. Através da investigação da validade empírica e conceitual de uma das operacionalizações de classe mais comuns na literatura internacional, a tipologia EGP, testamos como características do mercado de trabalho brasileiro se relacionam a essa dimensão. Nossos resultados, atingidos a partir de modelos log-lineares de classes latentes (latent class analysis) mostram que as particularidades do mercado de trabalho brasileiro são importantes na consideração sobre essa variável, mas não inviabilizam sua utilização. Munidos desse resultado, partimos para o último capítulo do trabalho. Nele, aprofundamos a discussão sobre desigualdade e saúde através da apresentação de teorias sobre o ciclo de vida, que informam dois debates específicos que investigamos empiricamente. O primeiro deles diz respeito à acumulação de vantagens e desvantagens ao longo do ciclo de vida e a estruturação das disparidades sociais em saúde. O segundo diz respeito à transmissão intergeracional da desigualdade e a desigualdade em saúde. Apresentamos essas correntes teóricas, que inspiram a elaboração de nossas hipóteses. Junto a elas, adicionamos uma outra hipótese inspirada nas discussões apresentadas nos capítulos anteriores. Nossos resultados demonstram a relevância de abordagens sociológicas para o estudo da desigualdade em saúde. Mostramos como nível educacional e idade interagem na estruturação das disparidades sociais em saúde, evidências indiretas de como as trajetórias sociais proporcionadas pela educação expõe indivíduos a condições que os expõe sua saúde a diferentes tipos de desgaste. Igualmente, mostramos evidências que apontam para como etapas relacionadas à infância e adolescência dos indivíduos têm efeitos sobre seu estado de saúde contemporâneo. Por fim, refletimos sobre os limites da variável de classe para o entendimento da estruturação das disparidades sociais em saúde no Brasil. / The main objective of this dissertation is the investigation of the relationship between the life course, socioeconomic status and health disparities in Brazil. We start by analyzing the literature that identifies the association of health with socioeconomic status. Convinced by the persaviness of this association, sociologists developed a theory that condensates an elegant explanation for this connection. This perspective, called the fundamental causes of diseases and mortality is presented in detail for the Brazilian audience. With the presentation of the literature about health disparities and the discussion about the fundamental causes, we justify the theme of this dissertation: the sociological study of health and health inequalities. In the following chapter, we investigate one of the dimensions that is, supposedly, one of the best ways available in the sociological perspective to study inequality, which is social class. We carefully present analytical perspectives about the theme and then we proceed to an empirical evaluation of the concept. In the last chapter, we make use of the class concept in our empirical evaluation of health disparities in Brazil. Not only we try to disentangle how socioeconomic status and health relate in the country, we also present a new perspective to its interpretation. Discussing life course perspectives, the accumulation of inequality and the intergenerational transmission of health inequality, we complete our analytical and empirical frame. Mobilizing this discussions, we try to show how health is a dimension that can only be understood if time is incorporated in its evaluation.

L’alimentation infantile est très encadrée par les instances médicales. Elle constitue donc un point d’observation privilégié de la médicalisation du quotidien et des conditions de diffusion des cultures savantes. Afin d’expliciter les déterminants sociaux de l’alimentation infantile, deux ensembles de données sont mobilisés : d’une part, un corpus documentaire, composé d’articles scientifiques, de publications à destination des parents et des échanges tenus sur un forum en ligne consacré à la puériculture, d’autre part, les données de l’Étude longitudinale française depuis l’enfance. Cette enquête aborde les thématiques du développement, de la santé et de l’alimentation d’un échantillon d’environ 18300 nourrissons, elle renseigne également le détail des caractéristiques sociodémographiques des parents. La première partie de la thèse est consacrée aux conditions de production et de diffusion des recommandations médicales en matière d’alimentation infantile. Nous montrons que, d’une part, les luttes pour le monopole de l’autorité scientifique à l’intérieur de l’espace de la recherche en nutrition pédiatrique, d’autre part, les demandes particulières des pouvoirs publics et des industriels adressées aux experts de l’alimentation infantile, révèlent l’incertitude et la variabilité des recommandations médicales en matière d’alimentation infantile. La réception par les parents de ces recommandations peut alors prendre la forme d’une appropriation des recommandations dominantes, d’une appropriation des recommandations dominées considérées comme mieux actualisées ou d’une mise à distance, parfois très critique, des recommandations médicales voire de la résistance au principe même d’une puériculture médicalisée. La deuxième partie montre que la conformité aux recommandations médicales de l’alimentation des nourrissons est fonction de l’interaction entre le niveau de diplôme des mères et les conditions de leur socialisation au maternage (notamment, leurs pratiques de recherche d’information en matière de diversification alimentaire). Ainsi, la réception de la puériculture médicalisée apparaît dépendante autant du rapport entretenu, par les parents, à la médecine comme système abstrait que du rapport qu’ils entretiennent aux représentants de ce système. Ces rapports étant fonction de l’expérience scolaire des parents. Dans une troisième partie, nous montrons que les répertoires alimentaires maternels ont un effet propre ainsi qu’un effet conditionné aux caractéristiques sociales des mères sur l’alimentation des enfants durant leur première année. / Medical instances strongly control infant feeding. Then parental feeding practices are a means of observing medicalization of everyday life and diffusion of science-based practices. In order to explain the social determinants of parental feeding practices, two sets of data are used: a corpus of documents composed of scientific articles, publications aimed at parents and conversations held on an online forum that concerns childcare and, on the other hand, the French longitudinal study from childhood. This study gathers information on 18300 infants. The study broaches questions of infant development, health and feeding. It also gives details on parents’ socio-demographic characteristics. The first part of this thesis is confined to conditions of production and diffusion of medical recommendations concerning infant feeding. We demonstrate that, firstly the struggle for the monopoly on scientific authority within the field of research in pediatric nutrition and secondly the specific demands of public authorities and industries transferred to experts of infant nutrition, reveals the uncertainty and the variations of the medical recommendations concerning infant nutrition. Parents receptiveness of those medical recommendations can take the form of an appropriation of the mainstream recommendations, an assimilation of minor recommendations considered as the most up to date, or a distancing, sometimes very critical, of the medical recommendations, or even more the resistance to the very idea of medicalised parental practices. The second part shows that the conformity to medical recommendations of infant feeding is a product of the interaction between mothers’ education levels and the conditions of their socialisation to maternity (in particular their methods of researching information on complementary feeding). Therefore, the receptiveness of medicalised childcare appears to be dependent as on the relationship between the parents and medicine, as an abstract system, as on the relationship between parents and representatives of that system. These relationships are a product of the educational experience of the parents. In the third part, we demonstrate that the mother’s feeding repertoires have a proper effect, and an effect conditioned by parents' social characteristics, on infant feeding during their first year.

This thesis is a science fiction exploration of a future dystopian world where privacy becomes a dominant currency that is distributed according to social class and ranking mechanisms. It utilizes speculative world-building to study the unanticipated implications of technology on personal privacy, surveillance and social inequality on future societies. The project introduces The Mall, as a highly efficient and hyper-connected world, but also exposes its downfall as a society with heightened cultural and socio-political disparities. Inspired by past civilizations, the development of the modern nation-state as well as contemporary society, the design adapts, appropriates and reformulates existing cultures into new hybrid possibilities. This thesis project is presented as an illustrated coded tapestry that allows the viewer to explore and interact with various components of the narrative to speculate and critique an alternative future-world void of privacy.

Cette recherche se propose de mettre en lumière, dans le secteur professionnel de la petite enfance, une lutte de représentations concernant la place de la mère. La première représentation figure une mère toute dévouée, portant finalement la responsabilité exclusive de son tout-petit. La seconde fait entrer en scène une citoyenne, travailleuse et mère, qui partage sa responsabilité éducative avec le père et des tiers sociaux. L’auteure s’attache aussi à montrer que cette lutte, loin d’être seulement présente chez les professionnelles, traverse également des discours légitimés dans le secteur en termes de savoir, et des dispositifs d’action médico-sociale à destination des familles en difficulté. La seconde représentation semble aujourd’hui cohérente avec la réalité sociale du travail, et un projet démocratique, en termes d’égalité de sexe, d’accueil qualitatif des jeunes enfants, de lutte contre les inégalités sociales. Mais elle ne bénéficie pas actuellement, ni d’une véritable légitimité politique, ni de référents théoriques qui articulent suffisamment, d’une part les enjeux d’égalité démocratique entre les citoyen-ne-s, d’autre part les enjeux de santé psychique des tout-petits et de leurs familles. L’auteure vise un dépassement de certains clivages théoriques et idéologiques, afin de construire une théorie politique de la prime éducation, qui contribue à ébranler la légitimité d’un ordre social qui fait porter aux seules citoyennes la responsabilité des jeunes enfants. Cette assignation, réalisée en sourdine, produit de surcroît un renforcement des inégalités criantes, selon l’appartenance sociale, face à l’exercice de la parentalité et de la citoyenneté. / The aim of this research is to bring to light a struggle of representations concerning the place of the mother in the infancy professional sector. The first representation stands for a completely devoted mother, who then assumes the exclusive responsibility for her baby. The second representation figures both a hard-worker-citizen mother who shares her educational responsibility with the father and a social third party. The author pays particular attention to display this struggle as not being only present among professionals but also filling, between the lines, some speeches legitimated in the sector as a “knowledge”. As well as it underlies health centers plans of action for families in trouble. Nowadays, the second representation seems coherent with the social reality of work and with a democratic project, speaking in terms of sexual equality, of qualitative care of youngsters in our society and fight against social disparities. Nonetheless, it can’t be said today that this representation gained a real political legitimity nor theorical references which could hang enough together the two elements at stake: democratic equality between men and women as citizens and psychic health of the infants and their family. The author aims at going beyond some theorical and ideological theories in order to build up a political theory of infant education that could contribute to contest the legitimity of a social order which considers the female citizen as sole responsible for infants. Moreover, this insidious assignment reinforces, depending on social origin, some flagrant disparities in the way of parenting and exercising their citizenship.

La survie des lymphomes non hodgkiniens (LNH) en population générale s'est améliorée durant la dernière décennie. Pourtant, des disparités persistent, suggérant le rôle de certains facteurs comme les facteurs socio-économiques et des inégalités dans l’accès ou la qualité des soins.Entre 2002 et 2008, 1798 LNH diffus à grandes cellules B et folliculaire ont été diagnostiqués dans 3 registres spécialisés en hématologie (Basse Normandie, Côte d’Or et Gironde). De fortes inégalités territoriales entre les 3 zones registres sont observées concernant le lieu de leur prise en charge, les délais d'initiation au traitement ou la survie, mais aucune association entre le score de défavorisation (EDI) et ces trois critères n'a été mise en évidence.La survie s'est améliorée durant la période d'étude. Cette tendance positive peut être expliquée par l’usage de l'immunothérapie en 1ère ligne. La zone géographique de diagnostic,la spécialité médicale (onco-hématologie vs autres) sont indépendamment associées à une meilleure survie à 5 ans quel que soit l’âge. Enfin, l'amélioration de la survie chez les patients âgés (75-84 ans en particulier) peut s'expliquer par un bilan initial plus complet (TEP scan entrainant un « upstaging ») suivi de traitements plus agressifs.Le temps de déplacement était associé au lieu de prise en charge et à la survie, avec un pronostic défavorable des patients résidant à plus de 15 minutes du centre de référence le plus proche.Malgré les avancées thérapeutiques, de nombreux facteurs non biologiques peuvent affecter le pronostic des patients atteints de LNH. L'expertise des équipes prenant en charge ces maladies semble primordiale pour obtenir une prise en charge optimale. / Due to the addition of innovative treatment, survival of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) increased during the last decade. Nevertheless, disparities persist, suggesting the role of certain factors as socio-economic factors and disparities in the access or the quality of healthcare.Between 2002 and 2008, 1798 Diffuse Large B-cell (DLBCL) and follicular lymphomas werediagnosed in 3 hematological malignancies specialized registries (Basse-Normandie, Côted'Or and Gironde). Important territorial disparities between the 3 registries areas were observed regarding the place of care, the delay of treatment initiation or the survival whatever the age while there was no association with the deprivation score (EDI).The survival improved during the study period. This positive trend could be explained by the use of immunotherapy as 1st line therapy. The geographical area where the patient was diagnosed, the medical specialization (onco-hematology vs others departments) are independently associated with a better 5-years survival whatever the age.Finally, the improvement of the survival in elderly (especially 75-84 years) could be explained by better work up (higher TEP scan use leading to "upstaging") and thus to use more aggressive therapies. Also, the travel time was associated with the place of care and the survival, with a poorer prognosis for patients living more than 15 min from the closest reference center. Despite therapeutic advances, various non biological factors can affect the prognosis ofpatients with lymphomas. The notion of lymphoma-specific expertise seems to be essential to achieve optimal DLBCL care management and reopen the debate of centralization of NHLpatients care in hematology/oncology departments.

<p> This thesis examines the theory of unequal exchange - an application of the labour theory of value to international freetrade - arguing that increased trade will harm rather than improve economic and social disparities between the developed and Third World countries. The theory as put forward by Arghiri Emmanuel is first presented and criticised. Assumptions of capital mobility and labour mobility on a world scale are than examined. As a result of these analyses unequal exchange is found to be a process the magnitude of which is mediated by the historical development of technology and the increasing mobility of productive capital. Unequal exchange does not provide a monocausal explanation of uneven development in capitalism as dependency-like interpretations would suggest, though it does make a significant contribution to a multicausal explanation. </p> <p>The existence of unequal exchange is shown, and its magnitude measured'i""' empirically on the basis of Morishima's value system. Input-output accounts for Canada and the Philippines are used for 1961 to produce estimates of commodity values per dollar. It is found that exports from the Philippines sold at prices that were almost five times lower than exports from Canada of the same value. Unequal exchange therefore, is a significant counteracting influence to the tendency for the rate of profit to fall in developed sectors, reducing the rate of profit, and therefore the rate of accumulation, in less developed sectors of production. </p> <p> The results of this analysis provide for two policy suggestions. Firstly the need to extend the class struggle to an international scale. Secondly, whilst import substitution may not solve the problems of less developed countries, an increase in trade will only harm them further. </p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The aim of this degree project is to provide a description of the social movements that struggle against mega projects in Europe and of the relations between them. A body of literature on neoliberalism sets the context in which these struggles take place. The concept of rhizome, encompassing characters of multiplicity, heterogeneity, horizontality, is presented as a theoretical framework. These theoretical foundations are confronted with investigation on two levels. At a general level, internet-based research is carried out to map, at least in part, the constellation of movements involved. At a more focused level, participant observation is conducted in specific sites in order to grasp the ideas, discourses and meanings that colour the struggles. By setting the struggles in a wider political context and by experimenting alternative social and spatial practices, the rhizome of movements gives deeper significance to the contestation of mega projects and opens societal prospects.

Résumé La présente thèse doctorale vise à déterminer sous quelles conditions la garde non-maternelle est associée (positivement/négativement) au niveau de stress et au développement cognitif des enfants. Elle comporte une recension des écrits et trois articles empiriques. Le premier article présente une recension des écrits (de type méta-analytique) qui synthétise les études portant sur le stress des enfants en services de garde et ayant utilisé le niveau de cortisol comme indicateur. Les résultats montrent que la garde non-maternelle est associée au niveau de stress des enfants, se reflétant dans des concentrations de cortisol élevées. Les niveaux de stress élevés s’observent particulièrement chez les enfants qui au départ ont tendance à être retirés, anxieux ou qui sont gardés dans un milieu de faible qualité. Cependant, certains éléments indiquent que les élévations de cortisol à la garderie sont temporaires et qu’elles disparaissent au fur et à mesure que l’enfant s’adapte à son milieu. Le deuxième article de thèse, réalisé dans le contexte de l’Échantillon longitudinal national des enfants et des jeunes [ELNEJ] (n = 3093), vise à déterminer dans quelle mesure l’association entre la fréquentation des services de garde et l’acquisition du vocabulaire réceptif au préscolaire dépend du milieu familial de l’enfant. Les résultats indiquent qu’à l’intérieur du groupe d’enfants défavorisés, ceux ayant été gardés à temps plein dans la première année de vie obtiennent des scores supérieurs sur une mesure de vocabulaire réceptif administrée à 4 ½ ans, comparativement aux enfants restés à la maison avec la mère (d=0.58). Le troisième article, réalisé dans le contexte de l’Étude longitudinale des enfants du Québec [ELDEQ]; (n=2,120), vise à documenter les bénéfices à long terme de la fréquentation des services de garde par les enfants issus de milieux désavantagés sur la préparation scolaire et les compétences académiques. Les résultats révèlent que les enfants dont la mère n’a pas terminé ses études secondaires obtiennent de meilleurs résultats sur une mesure de préparation scolaire cognitive (d=0.56) et de vocabulaire réceptif (d=0.30) en maternelle, et de connaissance des nombres (d=0.43) en première année, s’ils ont fréquenté un service de garde sur une base régulière. Par ailleurs, la garde non-parentale n’est pas associée aux compétences cognitives des enfants de milieux sociaux favorisés. L’objectif du quatrième article est d’examiner les facteurs de sélection quant à l’utilisation des services de garde dans le contexte de l’ELDEQ. Les résultats montrent que l’absence d’emploi de la mère pendant la grossesse, le faible niveau d’éducation de la mère; le revenu insuffisant de la famille, avoir plus de 2 frères et sœurs, la surprotection maternelle, et le faible niveau de stimulation cognitive sont associés à une faible utilisation des services de garde (30.7% de l’échantillon québécois). En d’autres termes, les enfants qui sont les plus susceptibles de retirer des avantages des services de garde sur le plan du développement, en raison de la présence de facteurs de risque dans leur milieu familial, sont aussi ceux qui utilisent le moins les services de garde. / Abstract The present doctoral thesis aims at determining under which conditions child-care experiences may be associated (positively or negatively) with children’s stress levels and cognitive development. It comprises one literature review and three empirical studies. The first study is a literature review (meta-analysis type) which summarizes the studies on child-care experiences and children’s stress (as indexed by cortisol) in order to identify individual and environmental conditions under which child-care is associated with elevated cortisol concentrations. Findings suggest that child-care may be more stressful, as reflected in higher salivary cortisol concentrations, for children who are less socially competent or who received low quality child-care services. However, some pieces of evidence suggest that cortisol elevations in child-care are transient and fade out as children grow older The second study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth [NLSCY]; (n=3093). The goal is to determine whether the association between non-maternal care and receptive vocabulary skills depend upon children’s home environment. Results show that children from low socioeconomic status who received full-time (< 25 hours/week) child-care services in their first year of life obtain higher scores on a measure of receptive vocabulary at 4 ½ years than those who were cared for by their mothers (d=0.58). The goal of the third study is to document further the longer-term benefits of early child-care attendance on disadvantaged children’s school readiness and school achievement. This study uses data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development [QLSCD]; (n=2120). Findings reveal that child-care services produce benefits over maternal care for children from low educated mothers on a measure of receptive vocabulary (d=0.30) and cognitive school readiness (d=0.56) in kindergarten, and number knowledge in first grade (d=0.43). Overall, child-care services produce no advantage or disadvantage for children who do not experience risks in their home. The objective of the fourth study is to identify key family factors associated with low child-care services utilization, using the QLSCD sample. Results show that maternal unemployment during pregnancy, low levels of maternal education; insufficient household income, having more than two siblings, high levels of maternal overprotection, and low levels of cognitive stimulation are associated with lower child-care services use (30.7% of the Quebec sample). In sum, children who are the most likely to benefit from child-care services in terms of their development are also those who are less likely to receive it.

Résumé La présente thèse doctorale vise à déterminer sous quelles conditions la garde non-maternelle est associée (positivement/négativement) au niveau de stress et au développement cognitif des enfants. Elle comporte une recension des écrits et trois articles empiriques. Le premier article présente une recension des écrits (de type méta-analytique) qui synthétise les études portant sur le stress des enfants en services de garde et ayant utilisé le niveau de cortisol comme indicateur. Les résultats montrent que la garde non-maternelle est associée au niveau de stress des enfants, se reflétant dans des concentrations de cortisol élevées. Les niveaux de stress élevés s’observent particulièrement chez les enfants qui au départ ont tendance à être retirés, anxieux ou qui sont gardés dans un milieu de faible qualité. Cependant, certains éléments indiquent que les élévations de cortisol à la garderie sont temporaires et qu’elles disparaissent au fur et à mesure que l’enfant s’adapte à son milieu. Le deuxième article de thèse, réalisé dans le contexte de l’Échantillon longitudinal national des enfants et des jeunes [ELNEJ] (n = 3093), vise à déterminer dans quelle mesure l’association entre la fréquentation des services de garde et l’acquisition du vocabulaire réceptif au préscolaire dépend du milieu familial de l’enfant. Les résultats indiquent qu’à l’intérieur du groupe d’enfants défavorisés, ceux ayant été gardés à temps plein dans la première année de vie obtiennent des scores supérieurs sur une mesure de vocabulaire réceptif administrée à 4 ½ ans, comparativement aux enfants restés à la maison avec la mère (d=0.58). Le troisième article, réalisé dans le contexte de l’Étude longitudinale des enfants du Québec [ELDEQ]; (n=2,120), vise à documenter les bénéfices à long terme de la fréquentation des services de garde par les enfants issus de milieux désavantagés sur la préparation scolaire et les compétences académiques. Les résultats révèlent que les enfants dont la mère n’a pas terminé ses études secondaires obtiennent de meilleurs résultats sur une mesure de préparation scolaire cognitive (d=0.56) et de vocabulaire réceptif (d=0.30) en maternelle, et de connaissance des nombres (d=0.43) en première année, s’ils ont fréquenté un service de garde sur une base régulière. Par ailleurs, la garde non-parentale n’est pas associée aux compétences cognitives des enfants de milieux sociaux favorisés. L’objectif du quatrième article est d’examiner les facteurs de sélection quant à l’utilisation des services de garde dans le contexte de l’ELDEQ. Les résultats montrent que l’absence d’emploi de la mère pendant la grossesse, le faible niveau d’éducation de la mère; le revenu insuffisant de la famille, avoir plus de 2 frères et sœurs, la surprotection maternelle, et le faible niveau de stimulation cognitive sont associés à une faible utilisation des services de garde (30.7% de l’échantillon québécois). En d’autres termes, les enfants qui sont les plus susceptibles de retirer des avantages des services de garde sur le plan du développement, en raison de la présence de facteurs de risque dans leur milieu familial, sont aussi ceux qui utilisent le moins les services de garde. / Abstract The present doctoral thesis aims at determining under which conditions child-care experiences may be associated (positively or negatively) with children’s stress levels and cognitive development. It comprises one literature review and three empirical studies. The first study is a literature review (meta-analysis type) which summarizes the studies on child-care experiences and children’s stress (as indexed by cortisol) in order to identify individual and environmental conditions under which child-care is associated with elevated cortisol concentrations. Findings suggest that child-care may be more stressful, as reflected in higher salivary cortisol concentrations, for children who are less socially competent or who received low quality child-care services. However, some pieces of evidence suggest that cortisol elevations in child-care are transient and fade out as children grow older The second study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth [NLSCY]; (n=3093). The goal is to determine whether the association between non-maternal care and receptive vocabulary skills depend upon children’s home environment. Results show that children from low socioeconomic status who received full-time (< 25 hours/week) child-care services in their first year of life obtain higher scores on a measure of receptive vocabulary at 4 ½ years than those who were cared for by their mothers (d=0.58). The goal of the third study is to document further the longer-term benefits of early child-care attendance on disadvantaged children’s school readiness and school achievement. This study uses data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development [QLSCD]; (n=2120). Findings reveal that child-care services produce benefits over maternal care for children from low educated mothers on a measure of receptive vocabulary (d=0.30) and cognitive school readiness (d=0.56) in kindergarten, and number knowledge in first grade (d=0.43). Overall, child-care services produce no advantage or disadvantage for children who do not experience risks in their home. The objective of the fourth study is to identify key family factors associated with low child-care services utilization, using the QLSCD sample. Results show that maternal unemployment during pregnancy, low levels of maternal education; insufficient household income, having more than two siblings, high levels of maternal overprotection, and low levels of cognitive stimulation are associated with lower child-care services use (30.7% of the Quebec sample). In sum, children who are the most likely to benefit from child-care services in terms of their development are also those who are less likely to receive it.