Fraternal Rupture and Somatic Pathology
A clinical dimension extends our theological analysis to demonstrate how internecine family conflict produces measurable physiological harm. Contemporary research reveals that chronic family discord dysregulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, elevates inflammatory biomarkers, and predicts cardiovascular disease, depression, and anxiety. A second addendum expands this framework to communal scale violence, examining how armed conflict produces analogous pathology through destroyed trust, fear, and avoidance behavior—with devastating effects on child mortality and population health that persist across generations.