Infants' home environments: a study of screening efficiency.

The predictive efficiency of Caldwell's Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) with a sample of infants from low-income families at-risk for developmental retardation was assessed. The home environments of 51 infants were assessed with the HOME at 6 and 18 months. Multiple discriminant functions composed of the six HOME subscale scores predicted whether the child would be low IQ (below 75), low average (75 to 89), or average to superior (90 and above) at age 3. At both 6 and 18 months, the discriminant function of the HOME was found to be moderately sensitive in identifying children in the low-IQ group (62% correctly identified); 56% were false positives. Additional research is necessary to differentiate with precision among families at elevated risk levels.