Examining Proximal Processes in Young Children's Home Environments: A Preliminary Report

Beginning with phenomena measured by the elementary version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) (Bradley & Caldwell, 1984), the authors identified three empirically derived proximal processes in young school children's home settings: maturity facilitation, the child's use of available stimulating materials, and the parent‐child emotional relationship. The authors argued for the coherence of Bronfenbrenner's concept of proximal process with Gottlieb's facilitative and inductive influences of experience on development. The authors attempted to apply reasoning and concepts from Bronfenbrenner and Gottlieb to better understand the dynamic phenomena captured by the HOME instrument. They also constructed and tested a questionnaire designed to assess the in‐home proximal processes that they identified.