The pendular regulation model: a transdiagnostic approach to emotional regulation
- 1Mental Health Institute of Florida, Pembroke Pines, FL, United States
Abstract
Contemporary psychiatric classification systems face persistent concerns regarding diagnostic heterogeneity, comorbidity, and limited mechanistic precision. Although dimensional and transdiagnostic initiatives—including HiTOP, RDoC, and network models—have advanced the field, a unifying regulatory architecture integrating nonlinear dynamics, hierarchical predictive processing, stress physiology, and identity stabilization remains underdeveloped. The present article introduces the Pendular Regulation Model (PRM), a neurodynamic transdiagnostic framework conceptualizing psychological functioning as bounded oscillatory regulation within hierarchical predictive systems embedded in neurovisceral and stress-responsive networks. Within this model, psychopathology reflects maladaptive stabilization patterns characterized by regulatory constriction or destabilization. Identity coherence is proposed as an emergent property of repeated regulatory trajectories over time. The manuscript outlines a structured empirical agenda designed to evaluate the model’s longitudinal predictive capacity using established quantitative methods. Explicit falsifiability criteria are specified. If empirically supported, the PRM may offer an integrative regulatory framework capable of clarifying cross-diagnostic variability and informing treatment responsiveness.
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BibTeX
@article{mambuca2026pendular,
title = {{The pendular regulation model: a transdiagnostic approach to emotional regulation}},
author = {Andres F. Mambuca},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1813038},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1813038},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The pendular regulation model: a transdiagnostic approach to emotional regulation
AU - Andres F. Mambuca
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1813038
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1813038
AB - Contemporary psychiatric classification systems face persistent concerns regarding diagnostic heterogeneity, comorbidity, and limited mechanistic precision. Although dimensional and transdiagnostic initiatives—including HiTOP, RDoC, and network models—have advanced the field, a unifying regulatory architecture integrating nonlinear dynamics, hierarchical predictive processing, stress physiology, and identity stabilization remains underdeveloped. The present article introduces the Pendular Regulation Model (PRM), a neurodynamic transdiagnostic framework conceptualizing psychological functioning as bounded oscillatory regulation within hierarchical predictive systems embedded in neurovisceral and stress-responsive networks. Within this model, psychopathology reflects maladaptive stabilization patterns characterized by regulatory constriction or destabilization. Identity coherence is proposed as an emergent property of repeated regulatory trajectories over time. The manuscript outlines a structured empirical agenda designed to evaluate the model’s longitudinal predictive capacity using established quantitative methods. Explicit falsifiability criteria are specified. If empirically supported, the PRM may offer an integrative regulatory framework capable of clarifying cross-diagnostic variability and informing treatment responsiveness.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -