How Thailand's Growing Environments Shape Character: Insights for Education and Work
New international research shows that the conditions children grow up in can influence adult personality. For Thailand, with its mix of booming cities and rural communities, these findings matter for schools, workplaces, and social policy.
Studies link harsh environments—such as corruption, inequality, poverty, and social instability—to the development of what researchers call the Dark Factor of Personality. Traits include selfishness, manipulation, and moral disengagement emerging during childhood and adolescence.
In Thailand, rapid development creates varied living conditions. Urban prosperity sits alongside rural struggles, making it important to understand how early experiences shape behavior across regions and groups. The study tracked environmental harshness using a composite of corruption, inequality, poverty, and social instability indicators from roughly 2000 to 2004. These childhood factors were found to have lasting effects on adult personality decades later.