Home Environments of Low SES Non-Organic Failure-to-Thrive Infants

Aspects of early environments of non-organic failure-to-thrive infants which differentiated them from matched infants whose growth was normal, were identified. Failure-to-thrive children were more often found in homes that were disorganized and where mothers were less responsive and less accepting of their behavior. No difference was found between the groups in terms of the amount of change observed in the environment over the past year. A multiple discriminant analysis using the Coddington Life Events Record and the six subscales of the HOME Inventory correctly identified 32 of 46 children as FTT or normal.