Effects of affordances in the home environment on children's personal-social, problem-solving, and communication skills.

BACKGROUND

Among the various factors forming the environment, most developmentalists are in agreement that the home is the primary agent for change in child growth and development. The present study investigated the effect of affordances in the home on personal-social, problem-solving, and communication skills of children between 18 and 42 months of age. This investigation extends work focusing on "motor" affordances as an environmental feature.

METHODS

Using cross-sectional design, 251 families (124 boys and 127 girls) were evaluated using the Persian translation of Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development and the Ages and Stages Inventories to determine the three skill competencies.

RESULTS

Results showed that the level of home affordances significantly impacted all three skill areas. And the total variance of predictive values in the final model had a moderate and significant ratio. Other factors such as attendance and non-attendance of children in kindergarten, family income, and education of parents were also contributing factors.

CONCLUSIONS

In general, these findings indicate that the home environment plays an important role in the development of personal-social, problem-solving, and communication skills.