This study determined the psychometric properties of the HOME (Home Observation for
Measurement of the Environment) Inventory in a Latin American sample. HOME data for
183 healthy Costa Rican infants were compared to the original HOME standardisation
sample from Little Rock. The Costa Rican total HOME average of 29.8 ± 6.7
was similar to the scores of families in Little Rock (mean = 31.2 ± 7.3).
Measures or internal consistency and factor structure were similar in US and Costa
Rican samples. In contrast to these similarities, Costa Rican HOME scores showed no
significant correlation with developmental test scores in infancy (Bayley MDI), and
the correlation with Full Scale IQ (WPPSI) at five years was modest, albeit
statistically significant (r = 0.28, P < 0.05). These relationships
were similar to those of Mexican-American children in a recent collaborative study
by Bradley et al., 1989 and not as strong as for US white and black populations.
However, when the concept of outcome was broadened beyond IQ scores to include child
health and development in general, the HOME seemed sensitive to important
environmental differences in this Costa Rican group. Lower HOME scores related to a
shorter duration of breastfeeding and differentiated children with iron deficiency
anaemia in infancy, a condition associated with long-lasting developmental
disadvantage. Thus, the HOME was helpful in identifying children at risk for delayed
development in this Latin American sample.
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