Implications of attachment theory for developmental psychopathology

Bowlby's attachment theory is a theory of psychopathology as well as a theo ry of normal development. It contains clear and specific propositions regar ding the role of early experience in developmental psychopathology, the imp ortance of ongoing context, and the nature of the developmental process und erlying pathology. In particular, Bowlby argued that adaptation is always t he joint product of developmental history and current circumstances (never either alone). Early experience does not cause later pathology in a linear way; yet, it has special significance due to the complex, systemic, transac tional nature of development. Prior history is part of current context, pla ying a role in selection, engagement, and interpretation of subsequent expe rience and in the use of available environmental supports. Finally, except in very extreme cases, early anxious attachment is not viewed as psychopath ology itself or as a direct cause of psychopathology but as an initiator of pathways probabilistically associated with later pathology.