Environmental Harshness and Unpredictability on Individual Development

Author : Hui Jing Lu

Abstract :An increasing body of literature has focused on how environmental harshness and unpredictability influence individual development in physical, social, cognitive, and emotional aspects. However, the operationalization of harshness and unpredictability within the ancestral cueing framework, which is adopted by most existing literature, has led to some indicators (e.g., death of family members) being used interchangeably for both constructs. Additionally, the inherent unpredictability of harshness (e.g., experiences of injury) poses challenges in distinguishing between the two constructs. Due to the diverse conceptualizations of measures for harshness and unpredictability, their impact on child and adolescent development remains multifaceted. To address these issues, I am conducting a systematic review to evaluate the suitability of indicators for harshness or unpredictability, and thus their respective impact on individual development. Preliminary results indicate that when harshness is defined by low socioeconomic status and unpredictability by variation in ambient environment, such as neighborhood and family chaos, unpredictability may have a more profound effect on child development than harshness. This distinction promises to enable more precise assessments and a more nuanced understanding of how children’s environment shapes their growth.

Keywords :environmental harshness, unpredictability, child development, adolescent development, socioeconomic status, family chaos

Conference Name :International Conference on Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences (ICPSBS - 25)

Conference Place Kigali,Rwanda

Conference Date 11th Dec 2025