Measuring home environments across cultures: Invariance of the HOME scale across eight international sites from the MAL-ED study

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.

Impact of early-onset persistent stunting on cognitive development at 5 years of age: Results from a multi-country cohort study

“…The HOME has been frequently revised and adapted for a variety of contexts. Versions of the HOME intended for younger children have been validated within this sample [44]. The HOME Inventory was used at 60 months to capture dimensions of the home environment beneficial for child development.…”

Mechanisms linking height to early child development among infants and preschoolers in rural India

“…For the infant, the Infant‐Toddler version was used; it includes 45 Yes/No questions and six scales (Emotional and Verbal Responsivity, Avoidance of Restriction and Punishment, Organization of Environment, Provision of Appropriate Play Material, Maternal Involvement with Child, and Opportunities for Variety in Daily Stimulation). For preschoolers, a modified Early Childhood version adapted for India (Black, Baqui, Zaman, McNary, Le, Arifeen, & Black, ; Jones, Pendergast, Schaefer, Rasheed, Svensen, & Scharf, ; Mohite, ) was used; it includes 55 items and eight scales (Learning Materials, Language Stimulation, Physical Environment, Responsivity, Academic Stimulation, Modeling, Variety, and Acceptance). These tools were revised by altering and deleting items that were not culturally appropriate (Fernandez‐Rao et al ., ).…”

Psychosocial and environmental determinants of child cognitive development in rural south africa and tanzania: findings from the mal-ed cohort

“…This assessment tool has been used in studies worldwide [35,36]. Furthermore, it was adapted and validated across the eight international sites of the MAL-ED study [21]. The HOME variable was measured at 6, 24, and 36 (±15 days) months of child age.…”

“…Despite the higher prevalence of these determinants in LMICs, the ramifications of some of these factors have not been well studied in LMIC settings and findings from HICs may not be generalizable to LMIC populations [18,19]. Studies that have explored the determinants of early child development in LMICs have mostly focused on biological factors, enteropathogen infections [20], the validity of measuring scales [21], and child growth [22]. The limited research on the effects of nonbiological determinants of child cognitive development has explored early infant cognitive outcomes at two or three years of age [3,14,23].…”