TY - JOUR
T1 - Life at Home
T2 - Same Time, Different Places - An Examination of the HOME Inventory in Different Cultures
AU - Bradley, Robert H.
AU - Corwyn, Robert F.
AU - Whiteside-Mansell, Leanne
PY - 1996/1/1
Y1 - 1996/1/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Cross-cultural comparisons
KW - Ecological perspective
KW - Home environment
KW - Measurement invariance
KW - Parenting
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U2 - 10.1002/(sici)1099-0917(199612)5:4<251::aid-edp137>3.0.co;2-i
DO - 10.1002/(sici)1099-0917(199612)5:4<251::aid-edp137>3.0.co;2-i
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0000299641
SN - 1522-7227
VL - 5
SP - 251
EP - 269
JO - Infant and Child Development
JF - Infant and Child Development
IS - 4
ER -