Emotional security as a regulatory process in normal development and the development of psychopathology

Abstract Emotional security is a central concept in many accounts of normal development and the development of psychopathology. However, the construct has rarely been subject to precise explication, and the conceptualization of emotional security as deriving from qualities of family functioning as a whole requires development. Emotional security as a regulatory system is defined and related to current approaches to emotions as regulatory processes. Although our model is built upon attachment theory, the emphasis is shifted from the evolutionary/ethological origins of attachment theory to the regulation of emotional well being and security as a goal in itself. Emotional security is conceptualized from a contextualistic perspective, emphasizing the interplay between socioemotional and biological processes. Felt-security as a goal is defined from an organizational perspective, reflecting the entire pattern of the individual's reactions to events in relation to emotional security as a goal, as opposed to simply those reactions that are “conscious” or reported as “feelings.” Component regulatory systems are specified (e.g., processes of emotion regulation, regulation of exposure to family affect), with illustrations centering on the impact of marital and parent-child relations on children's security.