Dionne R. Dobbins’s research while affiliated with University of Miami and other places

Proximal environmental variables illustrate aspects of the environment that are experienced directly and specifically by the child. The current study examined the associations between three proximal environmental variables: (1) quality of the home environment, (2) regularity of family routines and (3) frequency of parenting daily hassles and cognitive, language and behavioral outcomes in 36‐month‐old children who were prenatally exposed to cocaine and participating in an early intervention program. The quality of the home environment predicted expressive language and internalizing behavior problems, while daily hassles and family routines only predicted internalizing behavior problems. The results suggest that interventions aimed at changing proximal environmental variables may have positive implications for children who are at‐risk for developmental delay.

The present study examined proximal variables in families of children prenatally exposed to cocaine and enrolled in a large-scale intervention program. Fifty-six high-risk families of children enrolled in the center-based (n = 30) or home-based (n = 26) intervention of the Linda Ray Intervention Program were interviewed. Four proximal variables were assessed: (a) quality of the caregiving environment, (b) family's regularity and predictability of daily routines, (c) caregiver's perception of the family's adequacy of resources, and (d) frequency and intensity of caregiver's experience with daily hassles. Results suggested that families of children enrolled in the center-based condition had more predictable daily routines than families of home-based participants. A family's adequacy of resources influenced the quality of the caregiving environment. Families with adequate resources were more likely to provide daily routines. Caregivers with fewer years of education were less able to establish and maintain daily routines which predicted, in part, a poorer caregiving environment.