1. Factors that Influence Human Development
HHG4M

2. Human Development is influenced by many factors:
Social
Political
Environmental
Economic

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.