A factor analytic study of the HOME scale for infants.

Factor analyzed the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) item scores of 213 low-income Black (67%) and White (33%) urban mothers (mean age 22.9 yrs) of 13–30 mo old infants to determine the extent to which the existing subscales were evident. Emotional and Verbal Responsivity, and Avoidance of Punishment were apparent as distinct, independent factors. Items from 3 other subscales (Play Materials, Maternal Involvement, and Variety), which reflected concept-development toys, maternal involvement in children's play, and story-reading activities, loaded on a 3rd factor designated in the present study as Support for Intellectual Development. The HOME's predictive ability with respect to intellectual development was the most dependent on items reflecting the materials for learning provided by the mother and her instrumental support for developmental advance. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)