Abstract
The home environment provides the context for much of a child's early development. Examples of important aspects of the home environment include safety, cleanliness, and opportunities for cognitive stimulation. This study sought to examine the psychometric properties of an adapted form of the Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment (HOME; Caldwell & Bradley, 1984, 2003) across the eight international sites of the MAL-ED project (Dhaka, Bangladesh; Vellore, India; Bhakatapur, Nepal; Naushahro Feroze, Pakistan; Fortaleza, Brazil; Loreto, Peru; Venda, South Africa; Haydom, Tanzania), to identify a factor structure that fit the data at all sites, and to derive a subset of items that could be used to examine home environmental characteristics across sites. A three-factor structure (i.e., Emotional and Verbal Responsivity; Clean and Safe Environment; Child Cleanliness) was identified, and partial measurement equivalence/invariance across sites was supported. Overall, these findings lend support for the use of portions of this abbreviated and adapted version of the HOME for use among heterogeneous, cross-cultural groups in low- and middle-income nations.
Highlights
In recent years, school psychologists have been serving increasingly diverse populations within the U
This study examined the validity of the HOME across eight international sites that differ widely in regard to culture, language, and economic resources
Emotional and verbal responsivity these findings indicate that HOME scores measure Emotional and Verbal Responsivity fairly well for six of our eight research sites located in six countries across three continents BGD, BRF, NPB, PKN, PEL, and SAV, while not functioning well at the Indian and Tanzanian MAL-ED sites
Summary
School psychologists have been serving increasingly diverse populations within the U. S. and internationally (Jimerson, Annan, Skokut, & Renshaw, 2009; Mendes, Abreu-Lima, Almeida, & Simeonsson, 2014). To better serve such diverse populations, in the United States and worldwide, a comprehensive understanding of the context in which children grow and develop is necessary. School psychologists need to be aware of the connection between physical health and psychological health, and how the context of early childhood may influence later development. Psychometrically supported tools are necessary to ensure that early childhood development is being measured accurately across contexts
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