Item Analysis of the Late Adolescent Home Observation for Measure of the Environment Inventory

This thesis was an analysis of items in the Late Adolescent Home Observation for Measure of the Environment (LA HOME) after the first wave of N = 138 interviews. The purpose of this project was to learn how to utilize a statistical software such as SPSS to analyze items and interpret results. Frequency analysis, inter-rater reliability (IRR), correlation analysis, internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha, and feedback from research assistants were considered when deciding which items should be eliminated from the measure. After running these analyses, ten items were suggested for deletion including: clean, adolescent's room allows for privacy, reference materials, news, family encourages adolescent to think independently, community service, parent knows where adolescent spends time, weekly household responsibilities, school/career planning, and dentist. Future interviews generating a larger sample size as well as discussions and subsequent revisions to the manual will clarify additional items that may be eliminated from the final version of the instrument.