“Home Sweet Home”: Effects of Home Environment on Children’s Behavior Development from Infancy to Fifth Grade

Infant and toddler years are crucial for behavior development, which impacts the likelihood of a successful adulthood. If improper development occurs, it could lead to the child exhibiting externalized and internalized problem behaviors. Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) measures the environments and parenting children are exposed to. Parental responsiveness, ex. paying attention to the child or being in-tune with the child's emotions, increases the likelihood of a child developing adaptive social skills. Responsivity and acceptance in the home are related to development of social behavior, as they are associated with parents modeling pro-social behavior. This project aims to determine how the supportiveness of the early home environment, as measured by the HOME at 36-months, predicts child behavior problems in 5th grade. This study uses extant longitudinal data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP). The sample includes 2,671 children and their families at 36 months, and 1,622 children and their families in 5th grade. HOME was used to measure the child's environment across responsivity, acceptance, organization, learning materials, involvement, and variety at 36 months. Child behavior problems were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at 36 months and in 5th grade. Results indicate that higher HOME scores are correlated with both lower externalizing behavior problems at 36 months and 5th grade and internalizing behavior problems in 5th grade. Having home visitors use the HOME in home visits can allow for non-judgmental dialog to take place between the visitor and the parent(s) to discuss the child's environment and suggest activities for the child to help boost the developmental support in the home. If behavioral traits can be predicted by HOME, early intervention can help increase the likelihood of successful traits in behavioral contexts and can help decrease the likelihood of maladaptive behaviors.