LIFE AT HOME - SAME TIME, DIFFERENT PLACES - AN EXAMINATION OF THE HOME INVENTORY IN DIFFERENT CULTURES

In this paper we review literature on the use of the HOME Inventory ac ross cultures. We address issues pertaining to measurement equivalence and validity. Specifically, we focus on: (a) changes in the content o f HOME made by researchers, (b) distributional properties of HOME scor es, (c) the factor structure of HOME, and (d) correlations between HOM E, family characteristics, child characteristics and environmental con ditions, In most affluent, western countries, with their individualist orientations, HOME was used essentially as it was originally construc ted. Researchers in less industrialized, more collectivist countries t ended 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 cultu ral equivalence (and validity) of HOME subscales was far less plentifu l and compelling. In general, there seemed greater crosscultural equiv alence for items assessing cognitively stimulating aspects of the envi ronment than for items assessing socioemotional support. The usefulnes s of the Inventory in other cultures and for cross-cultural comparison s depends on the purposes one has for using a measure of the home envi ronment. (C)1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.