The Home Screening Questionnaire: Evaluating the Home Environment of Young Children

Abstract

In this study, firstly, the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Home Screening Questionnaire (3-6 years form), which is used to evaluate the quality of the home environment of young children, was examined, and then the relationship between the quality of the home environment and the variables related to parents and children were examined. Data was collected from 306 mothers of young children by using Demographic Information Form, Home Screening Questionnaire and Abilities Index. The psychometric properties of the instrument were investigated by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, item analysis, and internal consistency coefficient. According to the results of the analysis, the questionnaire is a single factor instrument consisting of 12 items and its psychometric properties are at an acceptable level. There was a moderate and significant relationship between the quality of the home environment and the level of education and income of the mothers and the level of education and income of the parents living in low-quality home environments were found to be significantly lower than the other group. In addition, there is a significant and negative relationship between the developmental functions of children and the quality of the home environment. The home environment of children with lower developmental functions was found to be less favorable than the home environment of children with higher functions. The findings of the study were discussed in terms of the psychometric properties of the 12 items Turkish version of the instrument and the utility of the instrument in both the medical and educational fields.