Abstract
Environmental Sensitivity Model on child development integrated the views of Diathesis-Stress Model, Differential Susceptibility Model, Vantage Sensitivity Model, Biological Sensitivity to Context Model, and Sensory Processing Sensitivity Model into one meta-framework to explain how biological factors such as genes interact with environmental factors to contribute to child development. Environmental Sensitivity Model employs the concept of environmental sensitivity instead of vulnerability, susceptibility, biological sensitivity, vantage sensitivity, or sensory processing sensitivity to illustrate how biological factors such as genes interact with environmental factors to contribute to child development. Children differ substantially in Environmental Sensitivity, with some more sensitivity than others and thus with some being more affected by environmental factors than others.
Environmental Sensitivity Model suggests that interactive effects between sensitivity genes and environmental factors shape sensitivity of the central nervous system. Heightened central nervous system sensitivity is then manifested in psychological/behavioral and physiological responsivity. Environmental Sensitivity Model provides an integrated theoretical framework for understanding child development from triple interaction of gene- central nervous system function- environmental factors and provides new explanations for the diversity of child development.
A large number of studies explored how gene sensitivity, neurosensitivity, and temperamental sensitivity interact with environmental factors to contribute to child development and provided some evidence for the view of Environmental Sensitivity Model. Future studies should develop more valid and reliable psychological and biological measures of children’s environmental sensitivity. Future studies should employ multiple methods and means to examine how sensitivity genes interact with environmental factors to contribute to central nervous system function sensitivity and then contribute to children’s development.
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Environmental Sensitivity Model on Child Development: An Integrated View[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2022, 45(6): 1367-1374
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