The aim of this pilot study was to explore psychometric properties of two versions of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory in a Swedish social service sample.
Method:
Social workers employed at 22 Swedish child protections agencies participated in the data collection. Both classic test theory approaches and Rasch analysis were used. Seventy-five (46 double) protocols of the Early Childhood version and 65 (43 double) protocols of the Middle Childhood version were obtained.
Results:
The interobserver reliability and Rasch reliability displayed acceptable results. Targeting was satisfying for the middle and more adequate home environments. However, there were mixed results concerning model fit.
Conclusion:
The scores may be used to identify families with inadequate home environments where children may be at risk.
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