Dimensions of Behavior and Home Environment in School-Age Children

Abstract

The combined etic-emic approach was used to study the conceptual equivalence of objectively and quantifiably measurable dimensions of children's behavior and home environment in the United States and in India. In the United States, information on behavior and home environment was provided on the Missouri Children's Behavior Checklist (MCBC) and Home Environment Questionnaire (HEQ) by the mothers of 681 school-age children. Following the revision of the HEQ and the MCBC for cultural relevance to an Indian population, the mothers of 419 school-age children in India completed both revised questionnaires. Similar dimensions of home environment and children's behavior emerged for both the U.S. and Indian samples. Dimensions of behavior appeared to have similar item content across both cultural groups although the specific item content of dimensions of home environment differed in the two groups. Features of home environment such as Rejection and Affection were consistently related to several behaviors of children such as Aggression and Inhibition, both in the United States and in India. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

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