Regulatory processes in development and psychopathology

Developmental theorists consider psycho-work to elucidate their respective viewpathology to arise through the ongoing points on regulatory processes in developtransactions occurring among regulatory ment and psychopathology. Authors exprocesses operating at different levels of amine internal and/or external aspects of organization As articu-pies that span the prenatal through adultlated by This attention to a range of (1990), and Schore (1994), these regulatory developmental epochs imparts a life span processes can be examined contemporane-approach to the study of regulatory proously along several separate, yet interrelated cesses. The specific populations addressed dimensions ranging from microlevels of bi-in this Special Issue include: extreme variaological organization through macrolevels tions within typical populations, neonates of social, cultural, and familial organiza-who have experienced birth complications, tion. Biological and sociocultural systems monozygotic and dizygotic twins, offspring are conceived as the prominent regulators of depressed parents and offspring of coin normal and pathological development, caine addicted mothers, and children who Just as biological organization (i.e., the ge-have experienced maltreatment or who have notype) is thought to provide the basis for witnessed marital conflict or domestic viointernal developmental regulation, social lence. Moreover, numerous psychopathoand cultural organization (i.e., the envi-logical conditions are represented, includrontype) regulates the adaptation of the ing autism, anxiety disorders, depressive individual to society and manic-depressive illness, and personal-Development takes place in the dynamic ity disorders. Various domains of regulatransactions among the evolving capacities tory processes, such as neural, physiologiof the individual, his or her active self-cal, emotional, cognitive, representational, organizing strivings for adaptation, and the and social-interactional, also are examined, internal and external regulatory context The breadth and diversity reflected in the