The Internal Working Model or the Interpersonal Interpretive Function

It is universally acknowledged that developmental psychopathology involves a gene-environment interaction. Some quantitative behavior-genetic studies strongly suggest interactive processes whereby environmental exposure triggers a genetic vulnerability. For example, the classic Finnish adoptive-family study of schizophrenia suggests that children with a schizophrenic biological parent were more likely to develop a range of psychiatric problems if, and only if, they were adopted into dysfunctional families (Tienari et al. 1994). Genetic risk may or may not become manifest depending on the quality of the family environment to which a child is exposed. But if this is such a pervasive process, why is the quantitative behavior-genetic evidence so sparse? I suggest that this is because the environment that triggers the expression of a gene is not objective. The child's experience of the environment is what counts. The manner in which environment is experienced acts as a filter in the expression of genotype into phenotype. For this reason, attachment theory has pivotal significance for genetic research. The primary concern of attachment theory is with the interaction of multiple layers of representations in generating developmental outcomes. Data from genetics call for exactly such sophistication in understanding the way genes may or may not be expressed in particular individuals, for intrapsychic representational processes are not just consequences of environmental and genetic effects—they may be critical moderators. This has substantial clinical significance, since the child's understanding of his/her environment is more readily modifiable than the environment itself, or the genes with which the environment interacts (Emde 1988). An attachment-theory intrapsychic perspective may be helpful in considering, not just what precipitates a disorder, but also which processes influence the course of the disorder for better or worse.