Caring for children around the world: A view from HOME

Abstract

This review examines cultural and socioeconomic variations in parenting as represented by the original and adapted versions of the HOME Inventory. There was specific focus on three aspects of the family environment where cultural models of parenting and access to resources are thought to be operative and for which there is evidence of impact on child well-being: parental responsiveness, discipline practices, and exposure to stimulating materials and experiences. Findings revealed meaningful impacts of culture and SES in all three areas. Not only did mean differences emerge across countries but different alliances between indicators, presumably representing the same parenting construct, also emerged. The review also revealed a tendency for researchers to modify the HOME consistent with local beliefs and practices concerning what children need, what families need, and the role of parents in fostering particular aspects of development. Despite differences in cultural models of parenting around the world, the studies showed rather consistent relations between exposure to stimulation and parental responsiveness and children's adaptive functioning. Associations with physical punishment were somewhat less clear.