The methodology of home-based intervention studies: problems and promising strategies

Research on home-based interventions directed toward promoting positive interaction between mothers and their young children has become a less active field in spite of evidence that some programs sustain meaningful improvements in the lives of mothers and children. The purpose of this paper is to clarify some of the methodological problems of home-based intervention research and to suggest future directions. Several major projects are discussed to illustrate different perspectives, trade-offs, and promising strategies for dealing with key issues: (a) congruence between goals and methods, (b) sample selection and retention, and (c) measurement and design. The authors suggest that designing home-based interventions as longitudinal development research (rather than outcome evaluations) can provide valuable knowledge about ecological factors that affect the development of competence in parents and children and about effective ways to support families.