This study prospectively examined the effect of intimate partner violence (IPV) on adrenocortical reactivity and recovery during early childhood. The sample (n = 1102 mother–infant dyads; 49.2% male) was racially diverse and from predominantly low-income, rural communities. To measure IPV exposure mothers completed the Conflicts Tactics Scale, and her caretaking behaviors were observed when her child was approximately 7, 15, and 24 months of age. Children's saliva samples, later assayed for cortisol, were collected around challenge tasks designed to elicit emotional reactivity. IPV was related to a trajectory of increased cortisol reactivity from infancy to toddlerhood. By contrast, the trajectory for non-IPV-exposed children decreased in cortisol reactivity across 7 to 24 months of age. At the 24-month assessment, on average, toddlers did not exhibit a cortisol reaction; however, those exposed to high levels of violence continued to have reactivity. Accumulative levels of IPV across the first 2 years of life predicted cortisol reactivity at 24 months of age. Early (7-month) sensitive maternal behavior moderated this relationship, so that only children exposed to both early insensitivity and high accumulated IPV exhibited increased reactivity at the 24-month assessment. Findings are discussed in relation to the risky family framework.

The family is one of the primary contexts of child development. Marital and parent–child conflict (family conflict) are common and predict a wide range of negative behavioral and emotional outcomes in children. Thus, an important task for developmental researchers is to identify the processes through which family conflict contributes to children's psychological maladjustment, as well as vulnerability and protective factors in the context of family conflict. In the current paper, we aim to advance a conceptual model that focuses on indices of children's autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning that increase vulnerability or provide protection against psychological maladjustment in the context of family conflict. In doing so, we provide a selective review that reflects the state of the science linking family conflict, children's ANS activity, and child psychological adjustment, and offer directions and guidance for future research. Our hope is to accelerate research at the intersection of family conflict and ANS functioning to advance understanding of risk and resilience among children.

There is emerging evidence for a connection between the surface morphology of the brain and its underlying connectivity. The foundation for this relationship is thought to be established during brain development through the shaping influences of tension exerted by viscoelastic nerve fibers. The tension-based morphogenesis results in compact wiring that enhances efficient neural processing. Individuals with schizophrenia present with multiple symptoms that can include impaired thought, action, perception, and cognition. The global nature of these symptoms has led researchers to explore a more global disruption of neuronal connectivity as a theory to explain the vast array of clinical and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia. If cerebral function and form are linked through the organization of neural connectivity, then a disruption in neural connectivity may also alter the surface morphology of the brain. This paper reviews developmental theories of gyrification and the potential interaction between gyrification and neuronal connectivity. Studies of gyrification abnormalities in children, adolescents, and adults with schizophrenia demonstrate a relationship between disrupted function and altered morphology in the surface patterns of the cerebral cortex. This altered form may provide helpful clues in understanding the neurobiological abnormalities associated with schizophrenia.