Those Who Have, Receive: The Matthew Effect in Early Childhood Intervention in the Home Environment

Are preventive early childhood interventions effective in improving home environments, as assessed with the HOME inventory (Caldwell & Bradley, 1984)? The authors traced 48 published articles, presenting 56 intervention effects (N = 7,350). The combined effect size on the HOME total score was d = 0.20 (p < .001). Randomized intervention studies were effective, but the combined effect size was limited (d = 0.13). Nonrandomized studies showed inflated effects (d = 0.58). Interventions with middle-class, non-adolescent parents showed higher effect sizes than interventions with low-SES or adolescent samples. Effective interventions used a moderate number of sessions in a limited period and were home-based. Learning Materials, Involvement, and Responsivity showed significant intervention effects. Families in better living conditions profited more from parent education (the Matthew effect). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).