Testing the Equality Disruption Framework (EDF): Permanent Uncertainty, Institutional Crisis Logics, and Stratified Social Outcomes

Abstract: Contemporary societies increasingly operate under conditions of chronic instability rather than episodic crisis, raising urgent questions about how equality functions under permanent uncertainty. This study empirically tests the Equality Disruption Framework (EDF), which proposes that sustained instability normalizes crisis-oriented institutional logics, destabilizes equality processes, and produces stratified social outcomes through differential adaptive capacity and recursive trust dynamics. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) with a sample of 180 adults, we estimated direct, moderated, and recursive pathways among permanent uncertainty, crisis-oriented institutional logics, equality disruption, adaptive capacity, adaptive advantage, accumulated disadvantage, and institutional trust. Results indicate that permanent uncertainty strongly predicts crisis-oriented institutional logics (β = .59, p < .001), which in turn predict equality disruption (β = .55, p < .001). Equality disruption reduces adaptive advantage (β = −.46, p < .001) and increases accumulated disadvantage (β = .60, p < .001), producing structured divergence. Latent interaction effects demonstrate that adaptive capacity buffers, but does not eliminate, divergence pathways. Accumulated disadvantage erodes institutional trust, which recursively reinforces perceptions of permanent uncertainty. Model fit indices indicate excellent fit (CFI = .96, RMSEA = .05, SRMR = .04). These findings validate EDF as a mechanism-based explanation of how equality becomes destabilized under chronic instability and demonstrate that inequality and uncertainty operate as mutually reinforcing structural processes. Keywords: permanent uncertainty; equality disruption; crisis-oriented governance; adaptive capacity; accumulated disadvantage; institutional trust; social transformation; structural equation modeling. Title: Testing the Equality Disruption Framework (EDF): Permanent Uncertainty, Institutional Crisis Logics, and Stratified Social Outcomes Author: Dr. David Bull International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online) Vol. 14, Issue 1, January 2026 - March 2026 Page No: 144-166 Research Publish Journals Website: www.researchpublish.com Published Date: 23-February-2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18744493 Paper Download Link (Source) https://www.researchpublish.com/papers/testing-the-equality-disruption-framework-edf-permanent-uncertainty-institutional-crisis-logics-and-stratified-social-outcomes