Maternal self esteem and Locus of Controlrelates to the quiality of young children’s environment (HOME) in Rural Andhra Pradesh, India: Research and policy implications

Abstract

The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scale has been shown to be a significant predictor of later cognitive outcomes in many cultures. Therefore identifying factors associated with HOME could be used to promote child development. Maternal psychological well-being is often overlooked although critical in the creation of quality in the home environment. This study examined associations between maternal well-being and HOME using a data set of South Indian rural mothers and infants to test the hypothesis that mothers with internal Locus of Control (LOC) and higher self-esteem (SE) will have a more stimulating home environment than mothers with an external LOC and lower SE, controlling maternal education, depression and SES as potential confounders. Results indicated significant association between maternal SE and LOC and HOME even after controlling for SES and maternal education. The paper examines factors associated with maternal LOC and SE, and argues that programs and policies must consider maternal well-being in interventions for improving child development.