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Environmental harshness and unpredictability: Do they affect the same parents and children?
Xiaoya Zhang1, Gabriel L Schlomer2, Bruce J Ellis3
1Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Development and Psychopathology
|October 21, 2021
Summary
Individuals vary in susceptibility to environmental effects. This study found that mothers and adolescents susceptible to early harshness were also susceptible to unpredictability, but findings caution against generalizing to all individuals.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Genetics
- Life-History Theory
Background:
- Differential susceptibility theory suggests individuals vary in their sensitivity to environmental influences.
- This study examines if susceptibility to one environmental stressor (harshness) predicts susceptibility to another (unpredictability).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether susceptibility to early-life harshness and unpredictability is consistent across different environmental exposures.
- To examine the impact of these environmental factors on maternal well-being, parenting, and adolescent life-history strategy (sexual behavior).
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.
- Assessed maternal psychological well-being, parenting quality, and adolescent number of sexual partners by age 15.
- Analyzed the interplay between early-life harshness, unpredictability, and individual susceptibility.
Main Results:
- Mothers susceptible to harshness also showed greater susceptibility to unpredictability in well-being and parenting.
- Adolescents exhibited a similar pattern, with susceptibility to harshness correlating with susceptibility to unpredictability in sexual behavior.
- Findings suggest some consistency in susceptibility across different environmental exposures, but with individual variation.
Conclusions:
- Early-life environmental exposures, such as harshness and unpredictability, can have differential impacts on individuals.
- Susceptibility to one environmental stressor may indicate susceptibility to others, impacting maternal and adolescent outcomes.
- Results highlight the importance of considering individual differences and caution against overgeneralizing findings.
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