Kids from High-Conflict Homes More Vigilant Toward Emotional Cues

The findings suggest that children from high-conflict homes, by training their brains to be vigilant, process signs of interpersonal emotion, whether anger or happiness, differently than children from low-conflict homes, Schermerhorn said.

For some, that extra vigilance may result in having difficulty in social relationships later in life, Schermerhorn hypothesized, although more research is needed to test that theory.