Psychometric Properties of the Home Executive Functions Environment (HEFE) Questionnaire

The environment in which a child lives plays an important role in the physical, mental, and well-being of the child. The childchr('39')s home environment and parental teaching are among factors that have a pivotal role in the childchr('39')s cognitive function. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the home environment questionnaire based on executive functions in Mashhad.

The present study was a developmental research method. The sample of the study consisted of three hundred 8 to 12-year-old students (103 girls and 197 boys) in Mashhad in the academic year of 2019-20 academic year, who were selected using the cluster sampling method. The participants completed the Home Environment Executive Functions (HEFE) Questionnaire (Kurako et al, 2018) and the Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale--Children and Adolescents (BDEFS-CA) (2012). The reliability was assessed using Cronbachchr('39')s alpha method in SPSS software and the construct validity was evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis in Lisrel software. Moreover, the convergent validity was checked using the correlation method between two questionnaires at a significance level of 0.05.

The items of the (HEFE) Questionnaire suggested that 5 subscales of this tool, i.e. control discipline ,stimulation, sensitivity responsivity, warmth and specific activities, had desirable fitness. Also, Cronbachchr('39')s alpha ​​for the total score of the (HEFE) Questionnaire was estimated at 0.75. For the subscales of control discipline, stimulation, sensitivity responsivity, warmth, and specific activities, this value was 0.75, 0.68, 0.78, 0.81, and 0.83.

Based on the obtained factors, the findings of the study revealed that the HEFE Questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for assessing cognitive development activities between parents and children.