The release of Chaos and Its Influence on Children’s Development: An Ecological Perspective provides an important first step in exploring how, why, and at what level, chaos at the familial and societal level affects children. Chaos refers to physical and social settings characterized by crowding, noise, unpredictability or a lack of routines, and instability or unplanned changes. It uses Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development as the means to understand the nature of relations between chaos and development. There is growing evidence that exposure to chaos can adversely impact children’s development and family functioning. The operation of chaos may explain why there are developmental consequences associated with poverty or living in high stress environments.
The book is the product of a conference in honor of Urie Bronfenbrenner held in November 2007, and edited by Gary Evans and Theodore Wachs. The contributors to the volume honor the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner, whose bioecological theory permits study at both the “microsystem” level (the family, school and daycare), as well as at higher-order levels that include parents’ work environments, the child’s local neighborhood, and his or her cultural milieu. The volume is part of an on-going biennial series supported financially by the American Psychological Association.