Cognitive Home Environment of Infants and Preschoolers: A Study From a Hospital Setting

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Publication year

2021

study description

Interview study.

core topic(s)

Early Literacy

Population Characteristics

Infant/Newborn , International , Medical Conditions and Disabilities , Toddler/Preschool

Exposures, Outcomes, Other

Child Development (general) , Home Language/Literacy/Learning Environment

metric(s)

StimQ Cognitive Home Environment Questionnaire (StimQ)

objectives

The purpose of this study was to determine the Cognitive Home Environment (CHE) of young children who apply to the hospital for various reasons.

exposure

Hospitalization.

outcomes evaluated

Cognitive home environment (CHE).

setting

The study was carried out in 2017 April - November at Inonu University, Developmental Pediatrics Unit, in Malatya, Turkey.

methods

In total 121 mothers participated. CHE was measured by The StimQ – (Infant, Toddler and Preschool) Home Environment Assessment Tools and sociodemographic characteristics of the families were noted.

sample size

n=121 (mothers)

measures

Measure of Cognitive Home Environment: 4 subscales of the StimQ (with some changes made for easier understanding and adapting to our culture)

1. 1. Availability of Learning Materials (ALM) assesses provision of developmentally appropriate toys.
   2. READ assesses shared reading activities (frequency of reading activities, number of books in the home, and diversity of content of books shared with the child).
   3. Parental Involvement in Developmental Advance (PIDA) assesses the frequency and quality of teaching activities parents engage in with their children.
   4. Parental Verbal Responsivity (PVR) assesses verbal interactions between parents and their children.

results

Averages of total StimQ scores were lowest in Infant Group (IG) with 13.7 points out of 43; 15.9 points out of 39 in Toddler Group (TG); 27.78 points out of 49 in Preschool Group (PG). There was a significant difference in the Total StimQ scores of mothers with high level of education in Toddler (p=.005) and Preschool (p=.000) groups. Looking at children's' books increased with age. Only 15% of the mothers in the IG, 32.5% in the TG, and 90% in the PG were looking at children's books with their children.

conclusions

The CHE of young children is not enough to serve for optimal development, especially the infants. High maternal education is effects CHE positively. Applying STIMQ can be a good opportunity to explore CHE of children in hospital settings.

limitations

The limitation of this study was that it was conducted in only one center. The strength of the study is that the entire assessment tool was applied to all three groups covered by StimQ in a hospital setting in a low-income country. To the best of our knowledge, researches using StimQ so far has been studied in specific age groups and specific subscales.