Abstract Few studies have examined the role of early vs. later environment in the development of life history (LH) strategies, whether age at sexual debut mediates LH development, or whether LH indicators contribute to environmental stress in adulthood. In the current study, we addressed these gaps cross-culturally using data from Jenu Kurubas who live in the rural outskirts of Mysore (n = 133), India, and mixed-caste peri-urban residents in Mysore city (n = 222). Research took place from October 2016–July 2017. First, participants engaged in semi-structured interviews to formulate quantitative measures of current environmental stress (n = 60). Next, participants (n = 355) completed structured questionnaires that measured demographics; early and current environmental stress; and LH indicators including age at sexual debut, facets of impulsivity, education, and number of children. Structural equation modeling was used to test for the developmental cascade reported in Western studies of psychosocial acceleration (e.g., indirect effect of early environmental stress on number of children through age at sexual debut). Consistent with Western findings, environmental stress appeared to hasten sexual debut, decrease self-regulation and educational attainment, and increase current environmental stress in the peri-urban sample. Early environmental stress forecasted younger age at sexual debut in both samples; however, no other effects of early environmental stress nor any associations with current environmental stress were consistent between samples. Although age at sexual debut appeared to translate early environmental stress into greater numbers of children and current environmental stress in the peri-urban and rural samples, respectively, it was associated with different outcomes between the samples and forecasted adult environment only in the rural sample. Taken together, our findings indicate more research is needed to determine whether the developmental cascade suggested by most applications of LH theory to humans generalizes across cultures and rural and peri-urban environments.

中文翻译：

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印度南部农村和城郊的环境压力和人类生活史战略发展

摘要 很少有研究探讨早期与晚期环境在生活史 (LH) 策略发展中的作用，无论是首次性行为的年龄介导 LH 的发展，还是 LH 指标是否有助于成年期的环境压力。在当前的研究中，我们使用居住在印度迈索尔郊区（n = 133）的 Jenu Kurubas 和迈索尔市城郊混血种姓居民（n = 222）的数据，跨文化地解决了这些差距。研究于 2016 年 10 月至 2017 年 7 月进行。首先，参与者进行了半结构化访谈，以制定当前环境压力的量化指标（n = 60）。接下来，参与者（n = 355）完成了测量人口统计数据的结构化问卷；早期和当前的环境压力；和 LH 指标，包括首次性行为的年龄、冲动的方面、教育和儿童数量。结构方程模型用于测试西方社会心理加速研究中报告的发育级联（例如，早期环境压力对首次性行为年龄的儿童数量的间接影响）。与西方研究结果一致，环境压力似乎会加速性首次亮相，降低自我调节和教育程度，并增加城市周边样本中当前的环境压力。早期的环境压力预测两个样本的首次性行为年龄较小；然而，早期环境压力的其他影响或与当前环境压力的任何关联在样本之间都不一致。尽管在城市周边和农村样本中，首次性行为的年龄似乎分别将早期的环境压力转化为更多的儿童和当前的环境压力，但它与样本和仅在农村样本中预测的成人环境之间的不同结果相关。综上所述，我们的研究结果表明，需要更多的研究来确定大多数 LH 理论对人类的应用所暗示的发展级联是否可以在文化、农村和城市周边环境中推广。