Download Factors that Influence Human Development

HHG4M
Human Development is influenced
by many factors:
 Social
 Political
 Environmental
 Economic
Social Factors
 Elements of society that can positively or negatively
affect the growth and development of a child.
 Examples include:
 Social Status
 Media
 Illiteracy
 Religion
 Child Abandonment
Economic Factors
 Economic refers to money, in it’s most basic definition.
 Therefore, economic factors are money-related factors
that can positively or negatively affect the growth and
development of a child.
 Examples include:
 Poverty

Note that poverty is related to many other factors, including
drug and alcohol use, poor nutrition, poor access to health
care, etc.
Environmental Factors
 Elements of the world around us (our environment) that
can positively or negatively affect the growth and
development of a child.
 Examples include:
 Poor Nutrition
 Low Birth Weight
 Alcohol Use/Abuse
 Drug Use/Abuse
 Smoking
 Chemical Exposure
 Pollution
Political Factors
 Elements related to government policy and its
administrative practices that can positively or
negatively affect the growth and development of a
child.
 Examples include:
 Health Care
 Education
 Environmental Protections
Important to Note:
 A factor may at once be environmental, social, political and
economic.
 For example, if a mother is born in a less-developed
country, and is of lower social status (social), she will likely
have less access to pre-natal health care (political). The
mother may not know about healthy nutrition during
pregnancy (social), or may not have access to healthy foods
(economic). The fetus may then not have adequate
nutrition to grow normally (environmental). This can
result in low birth weight.
 Therefore, low birth weight could be a result of any of the
four factors.