A contemporary view of early childhood motor development considers
environmental influences as critical factors in optimal growth and behavior, with the
home being the primary agent. However, minimal research exists examining the
relationship between motor development and the home. The present dissertation
addresses this gap with the goal of creating an innovative parental self-report instrument
for assessing the quality and quantity of factors (affordances and events) in the home
that are conducive to enhancing motor development in children ages 18-to-42 months. In
Study 1, following initial face validity determination, expert opinion feedback and
selective pilot-testing, construct validity was examined using 381 Portuguese families.
Factor analysis techniques were used to (1) compare competing factorial models
according to previous theoretical assumptions, and to (2) analyze the fit of the preferred
model. Of the five plausible models tested, the 5-factor solution provided the best fit to
the data. Reliability was established through the scale reliability coefficient with a value
of .85. Study 2 tests for the content validity of the instrument, examining the
relationship between the inventory and level of motor development. Fifty-one (51)
participants from the original sample were assessed for motor development using the
Peabody Developmental Motor Scales II (PDMS2). Comparisons were made between
the PDMS2 classifications of the AHEMD-SR quartile groups. Results supported the
primary hypothesis, that is, less favorable motor development was associated with less
availability of home affordances. Furthermore, the interaction of (factors) Inside Space
and Variety of Stimulation was significantly related to both Gross and Total Motor
Development scores.
The findings of these two studies suggest that the AHEMD-SR is a valid and
reliable instrument for assessing how well home environments afford movement and
potentially promote motor development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/2471 |
| Date | 29 August 2005 |
| Creators | Lopes Brandao Areosa Rodrigues, Luis Paulo |
| Contributors | Gabbard, Carl |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | 1778363 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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