Association between Intergenerational Care Facility Attendance and Developmental Outcomes in Preschoolers

Interaction with older adults is considered important for children’s development, yet empirical evidence on preschoolers’ interactions in intergenerational environments remains limited. This exploratory pilot study aimed to compare the developmental outcomes among children attending integrated intergenerational care facilities and those in stand-alone facilities. Data were obtained from the parents/guardians of 205 preschoolers aged 4–6 years. Child development was assessed using the Kinder Infant Development Scale and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. To isolate the unique contribution of the institutional environment, inverse probability of treatment weighting was employed to statistically adjust for multiple covariates, including children’s demographic characteristics, parental socioeconomic status, and domestic intergenerational factors. The results indicated that attendance at intergenerational care facilities, characterized by routine and structured exposure to older adults, was significantly associated with improved fine motor development. Conversely, integrated environments were also associated with lower gross motor skills and higher scores for emotional symptoms. Our study findings suggest that scaffolding provided by older adults during shared tasks specifically foster manual dexterity in young children. Contrarily, the negative association with gross motor skills may reflect the physical constraints inherent in activities involving institutionalized older adults. Overall, our findings demonstrate that institutional intergenerational environments possess unique educational value, providing a vital empirical foundation for evidence-based intergenerational pedagogical design by clarifying how structured exposure to older adults relates to specific developmental domains in early childhood.