This study modeled physical and psychosocial aspects of home environment and personal characteristics in a cumulative risk heuristic. Found that elevated cumulative risk was associated with heightened cardiovascular and neuroendocrine parameters, increased deposition of body fat, and higher summary index of total allostatic load. Replicated findings that children facing more cumulative risk have greater psychological distress among a rural sample, and this distress generalizes to lower perceptions of self-worth. (Author/KB)