BROADENING OUR CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS - CAN WE REINTRODUCE RELATIONAL STRATEGIES AND IMPLICIT REPRESENTATIONAL SYSTEMS TO THE STUDY OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

In the context of current studies of parental depression, methodologic al and conceptual issues related to the study of relational behavior a re highlighted in this commentary. These issues include the need to de velop measures of relational behavior that are well-validated in high- risk samples, the need to develop relational assessments focused aroun d central motivating systems, the need for methods that describe a var iety of individual relational patterns rather than focusing primarily on single linear dimensions of behavior, and the need to consider the implicit and explicit meaning systems that guide behavior in close rel ationships. It is suggested that a relational systems perspective migh t provide a more comprehensive framework for understanding the results of accumulated research in this area than a simpler mood-disorder mod el.