{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T06:27:58Z","timestamp":1787120878395,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":76,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787097600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The article presents a proposal for a model explaining the ontogeny of early maladaptive schemas (EMS) by linking classical developmental theories (Piaget, Erikson, Bowlby) with contemporary findings in the field of epigenetics. The proposed model indicates that EMS development is sequential in nature, involving interrelated cognitive, relational and biological levels. Early relational experiences, especially during periods of increased neurobiological plasticity, lead to permanent changes in the functioning of the hypothalamic\u2013pituitary\u2013adrenal axis and changes in gene expression associated with the regulation of stress responses (e.g., NR3C1, FKBP5). The dominance of assimilation processes over accommodation processes is conducive to the consolidation of rigid cognitive-emotional structures, which, along with the development of identity, take the form of integrated belief systems. The article introduces the concept of \u201cbiological lock\u201d, describing the state of stabilization of epigenetic and neurostructural changes responsible for the resistance of schemas to change. The cascade model developed in the present paper implies the need to modify therapeutic interventions toward a sequential approach, taking into account first the regulation of physiological processes (bottom-up), and then relational and cognitive interventions (top-down). This approach may increase the effectiveness of therapy in personality disorders, especially in cases of high resistance to treatment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1880786","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T05:48:11Z","timestamp":1787118491000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Cascading model of causal relationships in EMS ontogeny: integration of Piaget, Erikson, Bowlby, and Young paradigms"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Katarzyna","family":"Gutowska-Ma\u015blanka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Lodz","place":["Lodz, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monika","family":"Talarowska-Dublicka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Lodz","place":["Lodz, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"Schema Therapy: A Phase-Oriented Approach","author":"Reubsaet","year":"2021"},{"key":"B2","volume-title":"Schema Therapy: A Practitioner's Guide","author":"Young","year":"2003"},{"key":"B3","article-title":"Schema therapy: distinctive features","author":"Rafaeli","year":"2011"},{"key":"B4","article-title":"Schema therapy in practice: an introductory guide","author":"Arntz","year":"2013"},{"key":"B5","article-title":"The future of intervention science: process-based therapy","volume":"18","author":"Hofmann","year":"2019","journal-title":"World Psychiatry"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.2270","article-title":"Epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor in human brain associates with childhood abuse","volume":"12","author":"McGowan","year":"2009","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"B7","article-title":"Neuropsychologia proces\u00f3w poznawczych i funkcji wykonawczych w \u015bwietle teorii Piageta","volume":"20","author":"Kalkowski","year":"2025","journal-title":"Neuropsychiatria i Neuropsychologia"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1037\/11494-000","volume-title":"The Origins of Intelligence in Children","author":"Piaget","year":"1952"},{"key":"B9","volume-title":"Early non-Adaptive Young's Schemas and Their Relationships With Personality Functioning","author":"M\u0105cik","year":"2016"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1891\/0889-8391.9.3.173","article-title":"Cognitive development and cognitive therapy","volume":"9","author":"Leahy","year":"1995","journal-title":"J Cogn Psychother"},{"key":"B11","article-title":"Mowa i my\u015blenie dziecka","author":"Piaget","year":"2023"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/07853890.2025.2536199","article-title":"Early childhood trauma and its long-term impact on cognitive and emotional development: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"57","author":"Fan","year":"2025","journal-title":"Ann Med"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cognition.2023.10543","article-title":"What sticks after statistical learning: the persistence of implicit versus explicit memory traces","volume":"236","author":"Liu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cognition"},{"key":"B14","article-title":"The psychology of intelligence","author":"Piaget","year":"2001"},{"key":"B15","first-page":"85","article-title":"Early maladaptive Young's schemas and their relationships with selected mental disorders","volume":"16","author":"Maruszewska","year":"2019","journal-title":"Psychiatry"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2025.1548601","article-title":"Early maladaptive schemas from child maltreatment in depression and psychotherapeutic remediation: a predictive coding framework","volume":"16","author":"Ramamurthy","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Psychiatry"},{"key":"B17","volume-title":"Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping","author":"Sapolsky","year":"2004"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2008.01.007","article-title":"The teen brain: Insights from neuroimaging","volume":"42","author":"Giedd","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Adolesc Health"},{"key":"B19","volume-title":"The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma","author":"Van der Kolk","year":"2014"},{"key":"B20","volume-title":"Identity and the Life Cycle","author":"Erikson","year":"1959"},{"key":"B21","article-title":"Sposoby rozwi\u0105zywania kryzys\u00f3w w teorii psychospo\u0142ecznego rozwoju E. 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