Associations of biological factors and affordances in the home with infant motor development

Further Development and Validation of the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development-Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS)

BACKGROUND

Affordances in the home environment may play a significant role in infant motor development.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to further develop and validate the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development-Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS), an inventory that measures the quantity and quality of motor affordances in the home.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate criteria for content validity, reliability, internal consistency, floor and ceiling effects, and interpretability of the instrument.

METHODS

A pilot version of the inventory with 5 dimensions was used for expert panel analysis and administered to parents of infants (N=419). Data were analyzed with Cronbach alpha, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), ceiling and floor effects, and item and dimension interpretability analyses for creation of a scoring system with descriptive categories for each dimension and total score.

RESULTS

Average agreement among the expert panel was 95% across all evaluation criteria. Cronbach alpha values with the 41-item scale ranged between .639 and .824 for the separate dimensions, with a total value of .824 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]=.781, .862). The ICC values were .990 for interrater reliability and .949 for intrarater reliability. There was a ceiling effect on 3 questions for the Inside Space dimension and on 3 questions for the Variety of Stimulation dimension. These results demonstrated the need for reduction in total items (from 41 to 35) and the combination of space dimensions. After removal of questions, internal consistency was .766 (95% CI=.729, .800) for total score. Overall assessment categories were created as: less than adequate, moderately adequate, adequate, and excellent.

LIMITATIONS

The inventory does not determine specific use (time, frequency) of affordances in the home, and it does not account for infants' out-of-home activities.

CONCLUSIONS

The AHEMD-IS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess affordances in the home environment that promote infant motor development.

The Complex Interaction between Home Environment, Socioeconomic Status, Maternal IQ and Early Child Neurocognitive Development: A Multivariate Analysis of Data Collected in a Newborn Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

The relative role of socioeconomic status (SES), home environment and maternal intelligence, as factors affecting child cognitive development in early childhood is still unclear. The aim of this study is to analyze the association of SES, home environment and maternal IQ with child neurodevelopment at 18 months.

METHODS

The data were collected prospectively in the PHIME study, a newborn cohort study carried out in Italy between 2007 and 2010. Maternal nonverbal abilities (IQ) were evaluated using the Standard Progressive Matrices, a version of the Raven's Progressive Matrices; a direct evaluation of the home environment was carried out with the AIRE instrument, designed using the HOME (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment) model; the socioeconomic characteristics were evaluated using the SES index which takes into account parents occupation, type of employment, educational level, homeownership. The study outcome was child neurodevelopment evaluated at 18 months, with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Third Edition (BSID III). Linear regression analyses and mediation analyses were carried out to evaluate the association between the three exposures, and the scaled scores of the three main scales of BSID III (cognitive, language and motor scale), with adjustment for a wide range of potential explanatory variables.

RESULTS

Data from 502 mother-child pairs were analyzed. Mediation analysis showed a relationship between SES and maternal IQ, with a complete mediation effect of home environment in affecting cognitive and language domains. A direct significant effect of maternal IQ on the BSID III motor development scale and the mediation effect of home environment were found.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that home environment was the variable with greater influence on neurodevelopment at 18 months. The observation of how parents and children interact in the home context is crucial to adequately evaluate early child development.

[Factors predicting sensory profile of 4 to 18 month old infants]

OBJECTIVE

To identify environment factors predicting sensory profile of infants between 4 and 18 months old.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study evaluated 97 infants (40 females e 57 males), with a mean age of 1.05±0.32 years with the Test of Sensory Functions in Infants (TSFI) and also asked 97 parents and 11 kindergarten teachers of seven daycare centers to answer the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development- Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS). The AHEMD-IS is a questionnaire that characterizes the opportunities in the home environment for infants between 3 and 18 months of age. We tested the association between affordances and the sensory profile of infants. Significant variables were entered into a regression model to determine predictors of sensory profile.

RESULTS

The majority of infants (66%) had a normal sensory profile and 34% were at risk or deficit. Affordances in the home were classified as adequate and they were good in the studied daycare centers. The results of the regression revealed that only daily hours in daycare center and daycare outside space influenced the sensory profile of infants, in particular the Ocular-Motor Control component.

CONCLUSIONS

The sensory profile of infants was between normal and at risk. While the family home offered adequate affordances for motor development, the daycare centers of the infants involved demonstrated a good quantity and quality of affordances. Overall, we conclude that daily hours in the daycare center and daycare outside space were predictors of the sensory profile, particular on Ocular-Motor Control component.

A review of environmental contributions to childhood motor skills

Although much of children's motor skills have a heredity component, at least half of the variance is likely to be influenced by the environment. It is important to ascertain features of the environment that are responsible so that toxins can be avoided, children at risk can be identified, and beneficial interventions initiated. This review outlines the results of published studies and recommends the areas where further research is required. We found much confusion with little comparability concerning the ages or measures used. Few studies had sufficient power and few allowed for confounders. We found that research to date implicates associations with prenatal drinking ≥4 drinks of alcohol per day; diabetes; taking antidepressant drugs; being deficient in iodine or iron; dietary fish; and postnatal depression. The child appearing to be most at risk was born of low birth weight (but not due to preterm delivery) or with neonatal problems.

Caracterização do desenvolvimento motor de lactentes de mães adolescentes

Este estudo objetivou caracterizar o desenvolvimento motor e as oportunidades ambientais de lactentes de mães adolescentes, bem como comparar o desenvolvimento motor dos lactentes que moram com as avós com o desenvolvimento dos que moram apenas com os pais. Participaram do estudo 17 lactentes de mães adolescentes. Os instrumentos utilizados foram um questionário contendo informações sobre o lactente e a mãe, o Affordance in the Home Environment for Motor Development - Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS) e a Escala Motora Infantil de Alberta (Alberta Infant Motor Scale - AIMS). Os dados foram analisados por meio de estatística descritiva, pelo testes de Pearson e U de Mann-Whitney, considerando-se estatisticamente significativos valores de p<0,05. Os resultados mostraram que a maioria dos lactentes filhos de mães adolescentes (58,82%) apresentou um desenvolvimento motor normal, sendo que, na comparação entre os grupos, observou-se diferença significativa de desempenho motor das crianças que moram com avós. Em relação às oportunidades ambientais analisadas por meio do AHEMD-IS, todas as residências apresentaram baixa oportunidade para o desenvolvimento motor. Em conclusão, apesar de a maioria das crianças apresentarem normalidade no desenvolvimento motor, é importante enfatizar que o desenvolvimento tem influências multifatoriais, resultando de fatores intrínsecos e extrínsecos. Um acompanhamento longitudinal de filhos de mães adolescentes se faz necessário para entendermos o desfecho do desenvolvimento motor destes.

Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development: A Cross-Cultural Study between American and Lebanese Children

Considerable efforts have been devoted to map the relations between the home environment and selected aspects of child’s development. A recent instrument was developed that aimed at assessing the affordances in the home environment, the AHEMD-SR. Although the AHEMD-SR gave insight into affordances in the home, it was focused on two specific populations from the United States and Portugal. Currently, there is limited research regarding the validity of this instrument when used in different cultures. The purpose of this study was to compare a sample of Middle Eastern children to the normative sample that was used to validate the AHEMD. Results showed a significance difference between the socioeconomic statuses between the groups. Concerning factor analysis, results showed that the Lebanese group had five factors loading as did the American/Portuguese sample but with variables loading differently. Interestingly, the Lebanese group showed higher scores for affordances inside the home such replica toys and games. Our findings show that the state of the environment may play a role in the affordances and development. Future work is needed to look at the specific loading and possible variables that may be included in the AHMED-SR to look at other cultures that may have other limitations.