Getting reliable information about the home environment in at-risk families: A systematic literature review

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This systematic literature review aimed to gain an overview of studies using the Middle Childhood-Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory (MC-HOME Inventory), and to compare mean scores between the studies. PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE and SCOPUS were searched to find eligible studies. The literature search yielded a total of 532 articles. Seventeen studies investigating 5083 families were included. Studies were divided into population based samples and high-risk samples. Results showed that the MC-HOME Inventory is a widely used interview for the assessment of the home environment, and as documented by the studies of this review the HOME Inventories will help identify families in need of support and stimulation. Studies have shown internal validity and consistency of the Inventory. The finding of overlapping total mean scores between studies of general populations and high-risk populations could be due to the broad definition of high-risk populations as well as methodological differences between the studies. To strengthen the methodology and enable comparison it is recommended that studies follow the guidelines provided in the HOME Administration Manual and systematically report on methods and findings.

Original languageEnglish
JournalSocial Work in Mental Health
Volume17
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)381-401
ISSN1533-2985
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

    Research areas

  • Family assessment, home environment, Middle Childhood-HOME Inventory

ID: 224712657