Home environment and infant social behavior

Seventy-two children (18 black males, 18 white males, 18 black females, 18 white females) and their families participated in a study to examine the the validity of the HOME Inventory in terms of its relation to early indices of social behavior. Early social behavior was assessed using the Infant Behavior Record from the Bayley Scales. A factor analysis produced five behavior dimensions: 1) positive orientation and involvement, 2) fear and reticence, 3) enthusiasm and alertness, 4) activity level, and 5) self-absorption. In general, the findings show a similar but somewhat stronger relation between home environment scores and social behavior for females than males. For infant males, positive orientation was significantly related to organization of the environment and provision of appropriate play materials. Self-absorption was moderately related to avoidance of restriction and punishment. For infant girls, both positive orientation and activity level were significantly related to four of the six HOME subscales.     

Using the HOME inventory with infants in Costa Rica

It has been established through several decades of research that children's home environments significantly influence their development. Many researchers have also been interested in expanding research beyond indirect measures of the home environment, such as socioeconomic status, to help understand the nature of specific environmental mechanisms which influence early behavior and cognitive development. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory was developed to meet these needs. Specifically, HOME measures the quality of stimulation in a child's early family environment. Almost all studies of the approach's reliability and validity have been conducted with US samples. HOME is, however, being used in other countries. The authors report their findings from a study of whether the psychometric properties of HOME based upon US samples parallel those found in Costa Rica, and whether HOME discriminates between Costa Rican environments with different associations to child health and development. Focus centers upon the infant/toddler version of the HOME Inventory. HOME data for 183 healthy Costa Rican infants were compared to the original HOME standardization sample from Little Rock, Arkansas. The study found the HOME Inventory to be helpful in identifying children at risk for delayed development in this Latin American sample. Lower HOME scores related to a shorter duration of breastfeeding and differentiated children with iron deficiency anemia in infancy, a condition associated with long-lasting developmental disadvantage.     

Life at Home: Same Time,Different Places — An Examination of the HOME Inventory in Different Cultures

In this paper we review literature on the use of the HOME Inventory across cultures. We address issues pertaining to measurement equivalence and validity. Specifically, we focus on: (a) changes in the content of HOME made by researchers, (b) distributional properties of HOME scores, (c) the factor structure of HOME, and (d) correlations between HOME, family characteristics, child characteristics and environmental conditions. In most affluent, western countries, with their individualist orientations, HOME was used essentially as it was originally constructed. Researchers in less industrialized, more collectivist countries tended to express greater scepticism about the appropriateness of some HOME items, and several teams of researchers made modifications in the instrument. The HOME total score showed theoretically meaningful (and similar) correlations with family structure, family status and child outcome measures across many cultures. Evidence attesting to the cultural equivalence (and validity) of HOME subscales was far less plentiful and compelling. In general, there seemed greater cross-cultural equivalence for items assessing cognitively stimulating aspects of the environment than for items assessing socioemotional support. The usefulness of the Inventory in other cultures and for cross-cultural comparisons depends on the purposes one has for using a measure of the home environment. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The home observation for measurement of the environment (HOME) scale: A review of research

Caldwell's Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scale is perhaps the most widely used instrument to assess the quality of a young child's home learning environment. In this paper, the HOME'S psychometric properties and methodological uses are explored, and its utility as a research and clinical instrument is examined. Strengths of the HOME scale include the relatively wide range of information available pertaining to its psychometric properties and its use in studies of a variety of populations for a variety of purposes. Weaknesses include the fact that most research relating HOME scores to later child development is correlational. Several suggestions for future research are offered.     

Mental development: Family environment and genetic influences

A comprehensive home assessment was performed for 116 families whose twins were participants in a longitudinal study of early mental development. A large number of rating and observations made by a social worker during the home visit were condensed via factor analysis into four primary scores: adequacy of the home environment, maternal temperament, maternal cognitive skills, and maternal social-affect. The HOME scales of Caldwell (1978) were also completed, and all scores were combined with previously obtained measures of parental education and socioeconomic status. These scores were entered into a multiple regression analysis as predictors of off-spring mental development at 4 criterion ages: 6 months, 24 months, 3 years, and 6 years. The relationship was very weak at 6 months, but improved steadily over ages until reaching R_mult = .66 at 6 years. The four primary scores listed above plus father education all contributed significantly to the prediction of 6-year IQ scores, making it evident that home/family variables were substantially related to early mental development. However, a subsequent analysis using only parental education and SES as predictors yielded R_mult = .59. The qualitative features of home and mother thus appeared to augment a core linkage between parents and offspring representing intrinsic capabilities. The results are discussed in terms of both heritage and home environment as contributors to early mental development.     

When home is in jail: child development in Spanish penitentiary units

The quality of the educational family context of children who live with their mothers in prison (N=127, age M=16.3 months) as well as how this situation affects their level of development are analysed. The assessment of these contexts was carried out using the HOME scale. The evaluation of the children's development was carried out using the Brunet–Lézine scale. The data shows that the quality of this context is extremely low, with one of the most striking features being the low score obtained in the subscales of provision of play materials and variety of experiences. Moreover, there are significant differences in the scores that are related to the mother's level of education, ethnic origins and the type of prison where they are serving their sentences. As for the scores obtained by the children in the Brunet–Lézine scale, the data shows that their level of development is similar to that of the infant population in general although we also found that the development quotients of the children in the group with the lowest scores in the HOME scale tend to drop significantly after 18 months of age. The results are discussed taking into account the interaction of context and development under the light of the canalization hypothesis, and making some suggestions about possible ways to improve these children's life conditions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Quality of Home Environment in Brazil: An Ecological Model

Based on Bronfenbrenner's (1999) ecological perspective, a longitudinal, prospective model of individual differences in the quality of home environment (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment—HOME) was tested in a sample of 179 Brazilian children and their families. Perinatal measures of family socioeconomic status (SES) and child birth weight had direct effects on HOME at preschool age. As either family SES or child birth weight increased, HOME also increased through diminished emotional distress in the mother a month following childbirth. SES had a negative effect on number of children in the household, which in turn had a long-term negative impact on HOME. Compared to mothers who had reported not to plan their pregnancy, those who did were more likely to have fewer children, to report more spouse support during childbearing, and to show less emotional distress a month after childbirth, all of which also influenced HOME at preschool age. These findings are discussed in light of the broader socio-ecological Brazilian context, with direct implications to clinical practice aimed at improving the quality of home environment.     

The quality of children's home environment and attachment security in Indonesia

The authors examined the relation of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory (B. M. Caldwell & R. H. Bradley, 1984) for 0- to 6-year-old Sundanese Indonesian children with the quality of the mother-child attachment relationship (n=44) and attachment-related behaviors during play interactions (n=37) and with characteristics of the Indonesian caregiving context (N=77). Results showed that infants and toddlers with secure attachment relationships lived in higher quality home environments than did children with insecure attachment relationships. In particular, children with insecure-resistant attachment relationships lived in more unsafe and less organized homes with less play material available. For preschoolers, a lower quality home environment predicted more negativity and noncompliance toward their mothers in a play setting outside the home. With regard to the caregiving context, the socioeconomic status of the family was strongly related to the quality of preschoolers' home environment. Scores on the HOME Inventory for Infants/Toddlers and the HOME Inventory for Early Childhood were related to other culture-specific contextual characteristics for 0- to 6-year old Indonesian children as well. As a whole, the HOME was a good indicator of the general quality of the Sundanese Indonesian home environment.     

Maternal avoidance,anxiety cognitions and interactive behaviour predicts infant development at 12 months in the context of anxiety disorders in the postpartum period

BackgroundFew studies have examined the relation between anxiety disorders in the postpartum period and cognitive as well as language development in infancy.AimsThis longitudinal study investigated whether anxiety disorder in the postpartum period is linked to infant development at twelve months. A closer look was also taken at a possible link between maternal interaction and infant development.Study designSubjects were videotaped during a Face-to-Face-Still-Face interaction with their infant (M = 4.0 months). Specific maternal anxiety symptoms were measured by self-report questionnaires (Anxiety Cognition Questionnaire (ACQ), Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ), Mobility Inventory (MI)) to check for a connection with infant development. The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (Bayley-III) were used to assess infant language and cognitive development at one year of age.Subjectsn = 34 mothers with anxiety disorder (SCID-I; DSM-IV) and n = 47 healthy mothers with their infant.Outcome measuresInfant performance on Bayley-III language and cognitive scales.ResultsInfants of mothers with anxiety disorder yielded significantly lower language scores than infants of controls. No significant group differences were found regarding infant cognitive development. Exploratory analyses revealed the vital role of “maternal avoidance accompanied” in infant language and cognitive development. Maternal neutral engagement, which lacks positive affect and vocalisations, turned out as the strongest negative predictor of cognitive development. Maternal anxiety cognitions and joint activity in mother-infant interaction were the strongest predictors of infant language performance.ConclusionsResults underline the importance to also consider the interaction behaviour of women with anxiety disorders to prevent adverse infant development.     

The interaction of home environment features and their relation to infant competence

This investigation examined the relation between features of the home environment (HOME Scale) and domains of development (Griffiths Scales) in 6-month-olds. The sample consisted of 155 families with diverse demographic characteristics who were part of a larger study. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. More favorable eye-hand development was associated with more availability of appropriate play materials. The interaction of appropriate play materials and maternal involvement was related to both social and hearing-speech development. For the infants who had high exposure to appropriate play materials, social and hearing-speech development was more optimal if their mothers were highly involved with them. The analyses were conducted separately for low (n = 87) and middlelhigh (n = 55) socioeconomic status groups from the sample. Partial replication of the interaction effect was present for the middle/high group, but not for the low group. Findings support the importance of examining interaction as well as additive effects of the impact of early environment for relatively large samples in which there is a diversity of experiences.     

Maternal perception of infant intentionality at 4 and 8 months

This study examines the degree to which mothers perceive infants as intentional and the relations among perception of intentionality, background variables, maternal emotional adjustment, and maternal interactive style. Forty mother-infant dyads were assessed when the infants were 4 months old, and 34 were retested at 8 months. Parent perception of infant intentionality (PPII) was measured via a rating of videotaped segments of infant behavior and an interview. Intentionality scores showed acceptable internal consistency and were positively intercorrelated at each age and across age. The two measures were aggregated to form an index of PPII at each age. Higher educational attainment was associated with lower PPII scores, experience with infants was associated with higher PPII scores, and academic knowledge about child development was not related to PPII. Mothers with more symptoms of anxiety had lower PPII scores, but high maternal separation anxiety was associated with higher PPII scores. Maternal symptoms of depression had a complex relation to PPII scores. Mothers rated as sensitive in mother-infant interactions had higher PPII scores. These variables accounted for 34% of the variance in PPII at 4 months and 49% at 8 months. There were also group differences: Mothers of 8-month-olds had higher PPII scores than mothers of 4-month-olds, mothers of girls had higher PPII scores than mothers of boys, and mothers attributed more intentionality in episodes with girls than in episodes with boys. The results are discussed in relation to mechanisms whereby PPII interacts with aspects of the parent and infant.     

The association of paternal mood and infant temperament: A pilot study

Maternal depression is associated with adverse child development, but little is known about the effects of paternal depression. This pilot study estimated the prevalence of paternal depression and mood state, and assessed the relationship between paternal mood and infant temperament. The participants in the study were 98 fathers of newborn babies. Fathers were initially screened for depressed mood (Hospital anxiety and depression scale, and Edinburgh postnatal depression scale), and at 6 months parental mood, infant temperament, couple relationship quality, alcohol use, adverse life events, parenting, and demographics were recorded. Infant fussiness was analysed in relation to paternal mood and other contextual factors using multiple regression. Of the 98 fathers, 48 (49%) completed depression-screening measures. Of these 48 fathers, 4 (8%) reported depressive symptoms above the cut-off for case definition. A total of 48% (N=19) completed measures at follow-up. In the adjusted model, higher paternal depression scores, more traditional attitudes towards fathering, and increased recent life events were related to higher infant fussiness scores; and better couple relationship quality was related to lower fussiness scores. This study showed that 1 in 12 fathers had depressed mood, and lower mood was associated with negative infant temperament. Since the findings of this feasibility study were based on a small sample size the association of paternal mood and child development merits further study using a larger sample of fathers.     

A cross-cultural study of infant temperament: Predicting preschool effortful control in the United States of America and Russia

Effortful control (EC) has been conceptualized as a dimension of temperament related to self-regulation and associated with the development of executive attention skills. Research has focused on documenting the development of EC, but there has been little systematic study of its precursors. The present study was designed to examine infant temperament characteristics as potential predictors of EC in the toddler/preschool period across two countries: Russia and the USA. Specifically, contributions of negative emotionality (NE), positive affectivity/surgency (PAS), and regulatory capacity/orienting (RCO) measured in the first year of life were expected to explain EC in the preschool period. For the US sample, toddler NE, infant PAS and RCO explained significant amounts of EC variance, whereas infant RCO was the single significant predictor of later EC in the Russian sample. Analyses with the combined sample provided an opportunity to evaluate temperament-by-culture interactions, one of which (PAS×Culture) reached statistical significance. Follow-up analyses indicated that higher levels of infant PAS were related to higher EC scores for US children only, whereas for the Russian youth preschool EC did not vary as a function of infant PAS. Results of this study support the importance of early appearing regulation in contributing to the development of EC and illustrate the value of cross-cultural longitudinal research.     

Stability of maternal postnatal bonding between 3 and 6 months: Associations with maternal mental health and infant temperament

Maternal bonding is key for infant development and well-being. Research to date focused on prenatal bonding experience, with fewer studies looking at the postnatal period. Moreover, evidence suggests significant associations among maternal bonding, maternal mental health, and infant temperament. The joint impact of maternal mental health and infant temperament on maternal postnatal bonding remains unclear, with limited research reporting longitudinal data. Hence, the present study aims (1) to explore the impact of maternal mental health and infant temperament on postnatal bonding at both 3 and 6 months of age, (2) to explore postnatal bonding stability from 3 to 6 months, and (3) to determine which factors are linked with 3-to-6-month changes in bonding. At the infants' 3 months (n = 261) and 6 months of age (n = 217), mothers provided measures of bonding, depressive and anxious symptoms, and infant temperament via validated questionnaires. At 3 months, higher levels of maternal bonding were predicted by lower levels of anxiety and depression in the mothers and by higher infants' regulation scores. At 6 months, lower levels of anxiety and depression predicted higher levels of bonding. Moreover, mothers showing decreases in bonding were characterized by 3-to-6-month increases in depression and anxiety, as well as increased reported difficulties in regulation dimensions of infant temperament. This study highlights the impact of both maternal mental health and infant temperament on maternal postnatal bonding in a longitudinal sample and could offer useful information for early childhood prevention and care.     

Home environment and cognitive development of black infants in impoverished South African families

This study examined the interrelationships between home environment, mental and psychomotor development, growth, and educational and occupational indices of socioeconomic status among an urban sample of 305 African infants aged 2 to 30 months. The infants were assessed on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the Home Screening Questionnaire, and their heights and weights were recorded. Information regarding the family's socioeconomic status was obtained during interviews with caretakers. No significant relationships were found between parental education and occupation and infant cognitive development, but quality of the home environment was positively correlated with these indices of parental socioeconomic status. On the other hand, home environment scores were found to be significantly related to mental development, independent of parental education and occupation. There was considerable variation in home environments in the sample, which was drawn from generally impoverished urban communities. These findings from an African cultural group support the generalizability of the importance of the quality of the home environment for infant development.     

Infant behaviors and maternal parenting practices: Short-term reliability assessments

Consistency in the order of individuals in a group across short periods of time—reliability—is both important developmentally and meaningful psychologically. For example, documenting the reliabilities of infant behaviors and maternal parenting practices elucidates the nature and structure of early development. In this prospective short-term longitudinal study (Ns = 51 5-month infants and their mothers), we examined reliabilities of individual variation in multiple infant behaviors (physical development, social interaction, exploration, nondistress vocalization, and distress communication) and maternal parenting practices (nurturing, encouragement of motor growth, social exchange, didactic interaction, provision of the material environment, and speech to infant). Medium to large effect size reliabilities characterize infant behaviors and maternal parenting practices, but both betray substantial amounts of unshared variance. Established reliability is essential to the application of these measures in infancy studies, it is central to replication, and it is a limiting factor in predictive validity.     

Measures of infant self-regulation during the first year of life: A systematic review

This study aimed to systematically review the measures used to assess infant self-regulation during the first 12 months of life. This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement protocol. From 235 selected papers, 79 provided information on behavioural and physiological measures to assess infant self-regulation during the first 12 months of life. Thirty-six behavioural (30 observational and 6 parent-report) and five physiological different measures were identified. Studies with a longitudinal design, comprising larger samples, and aiming to assess infant self-regulation later in infancy, mostly used behavioural measures than physiological measures. Studies comprising lower samples and aiming to assess infant self-regulation earlier in infancy, mostly used observational than parent-reported measures. Studies targeting younger infants used physiological measures and studies targeting older infants used behavioural measures, with observational measures used with younger infants and parental-reported measures used with older infants during the first year of life. When measuring self-regulation is important to consider infant's age, to fit the measurement procedures with the self-regulation development level.     

A cognitive cascade in infancy: Pathways from prematurity to later mental development

Using data from a longitudinal study of preterms and full-terms, the present study examined the structure of infant cognition at 12 months, the extent to which five 12-month abilities (attention, processing speed, recognition, recall, and representational competence) mediated the relation from prematurity to mental development at 2–3 years, and how continuity and change in infant information processing from 7 to 12 months affected later outcome. The results indicated that 12-month measures of infant information processing completely mediated the effect of prematurity on outcome and the infant measures form a ‘cognitive cascade’, similar to that seen at 7 months, in which the two more elementary abilities (attention and speed) influenced the more complex ones, which in turn influenced later cognition. Additionally, despite cross-age stability, 7-month assessments contribute to outcome independently of their 12-month counterparts, suggesting that infant abilities undergo important developmental transformations in the second half of the first year of life.     

A Two-Year Longitudinal Study of Neuropsychological and Cognitive Performance in Relation to Behavioral Problems and Competencies in Elementary School Children

Despite interest in early neuropsychological status as a possible contributor to children's behavioral development, prospective longitudinal investigations of neuropsychological measures in relation to later behavioral outcomes in childhood are few. A 2-year longitudinal study in a nonselected childhood sample is reported. The study tested the influence of early neuropsychological performance (verbal fluency, mental inhibitory control, and visual spatial ability) on later childhood behavioral problems and social competency. Regular education children (n = 235) were assessed at three time points 1 year apart. To control for autocorrelation of outcome measures, Time 1 behavior was partialed while testing the effects of Time 1 neuropsychological scores on Time 3 outcome. To control for autocorrelation of neuropsychological scores, Time 2 scores were partialed while testing the predictive effect of Time 1 scores on Time 3 outcome. Both sets of regression models suggested modest but statistically significant effects for inhibitory control and verbal fluency, but not IQ, reading, or visual spatial ability, on behavioral outcome. Study results are consistent with a modest causal effect of selected neuropsychological skills on later behavioral adjustment. The findings support theories that implicate subtle neuropsychological dysfunction in the development of behavioral problems in childhood.     

The development of the still-face effect: Mothers do matter

The Face-to-Face Still-Face paradigm (FFSF) has been used to investigate how infants react to stressful events. However, there is little developmental data on the FFSF effect, and whether it connects to a specific relationship (e.g., to a mother versus a stranger). This prospective longitudinal study aims to evaluate developmental changes in infant reaction to the FFSF presented by the mother or a stranger at 2, 4, 6, and 8 months of age (n = 39). Results show that infant negativity was expressed less in relation to a stranger, the identity effect. Results further suggest that from 6 to 8 months of age, stranger induced protest flattens out; whereas mother induced protest decreases. The results are discussed in relation to different theories regarding infant responsiveness.