The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment- HOME

Factor-analytic studies of the HOME also support

the construct validity of this instrument

The latest editions of the instrument, dated 1984, emerged after

15 years of methodical revision and refinement

Items are dichotomously scored

1 for present, 0 for absent

HOME scores also revealed a strong relationship with poverty status in

Caucasian and minority samples

The correlation between total score for testings at 12 and 24 months of age was

a highly respectable .77.

Infant AND Toddler

ages 0-3 45 items organized into the following six subscales: 1.Emotional and Verbal Responsivity of Parent 2.Acceptance of the Child's Behavior 3.Organization of the Environment 4.Provision of Appropriate Play Materials 5.Parent Involvement with Child 6.Variety of Stimulation -subscale means and standard deviations for 174 families from Little Rock, Arkansas. Compared to the general population, this sample appears to overrepresent lower-SES families. For example, 34 percent of the families were on welfare and 29 percent were single-parent households.

Middle Childhood

ages 6-10 59 items organized into eight subscales -report subscale means and standard deviations for 141 families from Little Rock. Approximately half of these families were African American, the remainder Caucasian; boys and girls were sampled equally. These families were thought to be representative of all families rearing elementary-aged children in Little Rock, Arkansas

Based on in-home observation and

an interview with the primary caretaker, the instrument provides a measure of children's physical and social environments.

the HOME inventory shows promise not only in research but also

as a practical adjunct to intervention.

probably the most widely used index of children's

environment.

For the Infant and Toddler version, HOME Inventory subscale correlations with SES are mainly in the

.30s and .40s, while the total score-SES correlation is .45

Internal consistency estimates using Kuder-Richardson formula 20 ranged from

.67 to .89 for all subscales except Variety of Stimulation, which yielded a coefficient of only .44. This rather low reliability coefficient was due to the small number of items in the subscale (five).

interobserver agreement for the subscale items is reported to be

90 percent or higher, since this is the training criterion for new raters.

higher HOME scores predicted that children would exhibit fewer behavior problems and better preschool ability in a study of

93 single African American mothers

The validity of the HOME Inventory has been bolstered by research findings that show modest correlations with SES indices.

Because the inventory was proposed as a more meaningful, sensitive index of environment than social class, HOME scores should be significantly but not highly related to SES indices.

Early Childhood

ages 3-6 55 items organized into eight subscales -standardization data were available from 232 families in Little Rock, with lower-SES families similarly overrepresented

Test-retest data were available from 91 families tested when their infant/toddler was 6, 12, and 24 months of age.

The coefficients indicated a moderate to high degree of stability for the subscales, with most correlations in the .50s, .60s, and .70s.

The HOME Inventory comes in

three forms Infant AND Toddler Early Childhood Middle Childhood *for all three versions it is clear that the standardization samples provide only local norms. These data may be useful as points of reference but should not be equated with a stratified, random, national sample.

the HOME involves, in part, direct observation of children's home environments to determine

whether certain types of crucial interactions and experiences are present or absent.

during an hour-long visit the examiner determines

whether the child has at least 10 children's books or story records

during an hour-long visit the examiner assesses

whether the neighborhood is esthetically pleasing according to detailed standards

during an hour-long visit, the examiner observes whether the parent spontaneously communicates with the child at least

five times

Methods used for the assessment of reliability included

included interobserver agreement, internal consistency, and long-range test-retest stability coefficients for 91 families from the standardization sample.

HOME scores also show strong, theory-confirming relationships with appropriate external criteria

including language and cognitive development, school failure, therapeutic intervention, and mental retardation

the examiner must observe the child and caregiver (usually the mother)

interacting in the home environment

purpose of the HOME Inventory is to measure the

quality and quantity of stimulation and support for cognitive, social, and emotional development available to the child in the home. to measure specific, designated patterns of nurturance and stimulation available to children in the home.

In one study of 174 families, the total score on the HOME at 12 months of age correlated a robust

r = .58 with Stanford-Binet IQ at 36 months of age.

The scales and items of the HOME were derived from a list of environmental processes identified from existing research and theory as important for optimal childhood development

These growth-promoting processes include basic need gratification; frequent contact with a relatively small number of adults; a positive emotional climate that fosters trust of self and others; appropriate, varied, and patterned sensory input; consistency in the physical, verbal, and emotional responses of others; a minimum of social restrictions on exploratory and motor behavior; structure and order in the daily environment; provision and adult interpretation of varied cultural experiences; appropriate play materials and environment; contact with adults who value achievement; and the cumulative programming of experiences to match the child's developmental level

Prior to HOME the measurement of children's environments was based largely upon demographic data such as

parental education, occupation, income, and location of residence (combined to get SES).

The correlations between HOME scores and intellectual measures such as the Stanford-Binet are

particularly informative.