Emotional availability: Conceptualization and research findings.
Abstract
The emotional availability construct (based on observations of parent-child interactions) was first reconceptualized for research in 1991 as a way to describe the quality of parent-child interactions. Since then, there has been considerable refinement of the construct. EA refers to several parental dimensions (sensitivity, structuring, non-intrusiveness, non-hostility) and two child dimensions (responsiveness to parent and involvement of parent). The EA empirical link with attachment and parent-child relationship are reviewed and avenues for future research are suggested.
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The Emotional Availability Scales have high inter-rater reliability for parental responsiveness (0.96), involving (0.87), sensitivity (0.93) and structuring (0.76).
“The scale has high inter-rater reliability for parental responsiveness (0.96), involving (0.87), sensitivity (0.93) and structuring (0.76).”
From Early Parenting Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ‘Early PACT’ for parents of infants with cerebral palsy: a study protocol of a randomised controlled trial (2020) · cites this paper as [30]
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Carter, A. S., Briggs‐Gowan, M. J., & Davis, N. O. (2004) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1046/j.0021-9630.2003.00316.x · Cited by 460 · see citing works
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“Biringen Z. Emotional availability: conceptualization and research findings.”
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Biringen, Z. C., & Easterbrooks, M. A. (2012) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579411000617 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
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“The psychometric properties of the EA are established [26].”
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Emotional availability in a sample of mothers with a history of abuse
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“The observerrated parental EAS (Biringen et al., 2000) were used to assess parental emotional responsiveness to their child’s needs from a transactional and systemic perspective (Biringen, 2000; Biringen and Easterbrooks, 2012).”
MethodBornstein, M. H., Putnick, D. L., Heslington, M., Gini, M., Suwalsky, J. T. D., Venuti, P., de Falco, S., Giusti, Z., & de Galperín, C. Z. (2008) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.3.666 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
“A more complete description of the EAS can be found in Biringen and Robinson (1991), Easterbrooks and Biringen (2000), Biringen (2000), and a special issue of the Infant Mental Health Journal (Ammaniti, 2006).”
BackgroundInfluentialChild–mother and child–father play interaction patterns with preschoolers
John, A., Halliburton, A. L., & Humphrey, J. (2012) · Early Child Development and Care · doi:10.1080/03004430.2012.711595 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
“Findings derived through the use of the EA coding system are particularly important because past studies have demonstrated links between parental EA and children’s attachment security (see Biringen, 2000 for a review).”
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“In line with previous operationalizations of emotional availability (e.g., Biringen, 2000), the Insensitive/ParentCenteredness, Disengagement, Hostility, and Low Affective Warmth scales were utilized to form a composite of maternal parenting.”
Vinall, J., Miller, S. P., Synnes, A. R., & GRUNAU, R. E. (2013) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2013.05.050 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
“Emotional Availability (EA) is a construct characterizing a supportive caregiver whose authenticity of affect, appropriate responding (sensitivity/ nonhostility/nonintrusiveness), and provision of guidance (structuring) increases their child’s autonomy [10].”
InfluentialKorja, R., Nolvi, S., Grant, K., & McMahon, C. (2017) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-017-0709-0 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
The Role of Interactional Quality in Learning from Touch Screens during Infancy: Context Matters
Zack, E., & Barr, R. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01264 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
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“Authenticity of the expressed affects (affect sharing function): the third and final characteristic, this scale concerns the authenticity of emotional expression, that is, to what extent the affects, whether positive or negative, are genuine and not forced (Biringen 2000; Truax et al. 1966).”
BackgroundEmotional Relationships between Mothers and Infants: Knowns, Unknowns, and Unknown Unknowns
Bornstein, M., Suwalsky, J. D., & Breakstone, D. (2012) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579411000708 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
“Notably, the EA Scales have been examined in relation to concurrent and longitudinal measures of attachment (see Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000, 2005a, 2005b).”
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Bornstein, M. H., Gini, M., Putnick, D. L., Haynes, O. M., Painter, K. M., & Suwalsky, J. T. D. (2006) · Infancy · doi:10.1207/s15327078in1001_1 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
“Biringen et al. (1999) rated EA at home when children were 9, 12, and 14 months.”
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Assessing the Emotional Availability of Parents
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“…of parental emotional availability permeate the experiences of youngsters who are at risk for emotional/behavioral problems due to parental divorce, interparental conflict, and parental psychopathology (Biringen, 2000; Easterbrooks, Biesecker, & LyonsRuth, 2000; Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000).”
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Steinsbekk, S., Bonneville‐Roussy, A., Fildes, A., Llewellyn, C. H., & Wichstrøm, L. (2017) · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · doi:10.1186/s12966-017-0542-7 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
“Although our study does not reveal the underlying mechanisms, it might be hypothesized that because parents high in structuring facilitate children’s learning and exploration within the child’s zone of proximal development [54], they are better able to systematically promote exposure of unfamiliar and possibly also pr…”
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Vliegen, N., Luyten, P., & Biringen, Z. (2009) · Parenting · doi:10.1080/15295190902844514 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
“The emotional availability concept ( Biringen, 2000 , 2004 ; Emde, 1980 ) is—with regard to the first year of life—intimately tied to the parent's receptiveness for preverbal communication and the infant's ability to express what it feels, needs, and desires.”
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de Falco, S., Emer, A., Martini, L., Rigo, P., Pruner, S., & Venuti, P. (2014) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00898 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
“In this perspective, EA is a crucial construct (Biringen and Robinson, 1991; Aviezer et al., 1999; Bretherton, 2000; EA; Biringen and Robinson, 1991; Biringen, 2000) is a relationship construct based on attachment theory (Ainsworth et al., 1978) integrated with Emde’s (1980) emotions perspective.”
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“The Parental Emotional Availability Scales (EAS; Biringen 2000), observational measures, were used to assess parental emotional responsiveness to their child’s needs.”
MethodMommy, speak clearly: induced hearing loss shapes vowel hyperarticulation
Lam‐Cassettari, C., & Kitamura, C. (2011) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01118.x · Cited by 84 · see citing works
“Second, mother–infant interactions exhibited a decrease in ratings of Emotional Availability (Biringen, 2000; Biringen, Robinson & Emde, 2000); and in particular showed decreased responsiveness on the part of the HI twin compared to NH twin.”
BackgroundMother–infant Interaction Quality and Infants' Ability to Encode Actions as Goal‐directed
Licata, M., Paulus, M., Thoermer, C., Kristen, S., Woodward, A. L., & Sodian, B. (2013) · Social Development · doi:10.1111/sode.12057 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
“Furthermore, they support Biringen’s (2000) assumption that the overall affective quality is more indicative of the relationship and is more important for positive outcomes on the child side than quantitative measurements (like maternal MM) focusing on specific maternal behaviors.”
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“…are more often insecurely attached (Sagi, Koren-Karie, Gini, Ziv, & Joels, 2002; Ziv, Aviezer, Gini, Sagi, & Koren-Karie, 2000), and additional dimensions of EA (especially the child EA dimensions) also have been predictive of attachment security in infants (e.g., Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationKim, B. R., Stifter, C. A., Philbrook, L. E., & Teti, D. M. (2014) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2014.06.006 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
“Emotionally available parents engage in sensitive, structuring, nonintrusive, and non-hostile behaviors that enable the child to use the parent for comfort and support as well as engage in adaptive emotion regulation strategies (Biringen, 2000; Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 1998; Kogan & Carter, 1996; Little & Carter, 2…”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialThe effects of parental behavior on infants' neural processing of emotion expressions.
Taylor-Colls, S., & Fearon, R. P. P. (2015) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12348 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Stack, D. M., Serbin, L. A., Girouard, N., Enns, L. N., Bentley, V. M. N., Ledingham, J. E., & Schwartzman, A. E. (2012) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s095457941100068x · Cited by 73 · see citing works
“EA is a relational construct reflecting the ability of mothers and children to effectively regulate their interactions (Emde, 1980, 2000), taking into account the behavior of both partners (Biringen, 2000).”
BackgroundGilissen, R., Koolstra, C. M., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans‐Kranenburg, M. J., & van der Veer, R. (2007) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.20188 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
A prevention and promotion intervention program in the field of mother–infant relationship
Ammaniti, M., Speranza, A. M., Tambelli, R., Muscetta, S., Lucarelli, L., Vismara, L., Odorisio, F., & Cimino, S. (2006) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.20081 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
“This system is based on attachment theory Ainsworth et al., 1978 , on recent perspectives about mother–infant interactional dyads as mutually regulated systems Tronick, 1989; Tronick & Cohn, 1989 , and on emotional availability Biringen, 2000; Biringen & Robinson, 1991 .”
MethodRiddell, R. P., Campbell, L., Flora, D. B., Racine, N. M., Osmun, L. D., Garfield, H., & Greenberg, S. (2011) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2011.09.011 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
“The EAS has been well validated in a variety of distressing nonpain contexts [4] as well as in a pain context [14].”
BackgroundMethodSpittle, A., Thompson, D. K., Brown, N., Treyvaud, K., Cheong, J., Lee, K. J., Pace, C. C., Olsen, J., Allinson, L., Morgan, A., et al. (2014) · BMC Pediatrics · doi:10.1186/1471-2431-14-111 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
“For example, the EAS has been associated with other measures of attachment in the parent–child relationship [59] and child development [60], and is reliable across contexts [61].”
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THE ROLE OF THE FATHER IN CHILD SLEEP DISTURBANCE: CHILD, PARENT, AND PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
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Fathers' play with their Down Syndrome children
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“Child involving assesses the child’s ability and willingness to engage the mother in interaction (see Biringen, 2000; Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialMaternal attachment and the communication of emotion through song
Milligan, K., Atkinson, L., Trehub, S. E., Benoit, D., & Poulton, L. (2003) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/s0163-6383(02)00165-0 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
A procedure for assessing parents' capacity for change in child protection cases
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“As with the DPICS II, the Emotional Availability Scales require training to ensure reliability of the observations.”
BackgroundVideo feedback for parental sensitivity and attachment security in children under five years
O’Hara, L., Smith, E. R., Barlow, J., Livingstone, N., Herath, N. I., Wei, Y., Spreckelsen, T. F., & Macdonald, G. M. (2019) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd012348.pub2 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
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“Thus, the EAS assess specific behaviors of individuals, but also constitutes global ratings of dyads and emphasizes joint interactional styles (Biringen, 2000).”
BackgroundCarreras, J., Carter, A., Heberle, A. E., Forbes, D., & Gray, S. A. O. (2019) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-019-01471-z · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“Contrary to expectations, while we found that emotion regulation predicted sensitive parenting when including psychological distress in the model, we did not observe a relation between psychological distress and sensitive parenting, which has been well established in the literature (Biringen, 2000; Goodman & Gotlib, 1…”
ResultFirk, C., Konrad, K., Herpertz‐Dahlmann, B., Scharke, W., & Dahmen, B. (2018) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2018.02.002 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Vliegen, N., Casalin, S., Luyten, P., Docx, R., Lenaerts, M., Tang, E., & Kempke, S. (2013) · Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes · doi:10.1521/psyc.2013.76.2.150 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Flykt, M. S., Punamäki, R., Belt, R. H., Biringen, Z. C., Salo, S., Posa, T., & Pajulo, M. (2012) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.21313 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Self-citationHøivik, M. S., Lydersen, S., Drugli, M. B., Onsøien, R., Hansen, M., & Nielsen, T. (2015) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health · doi:10.1186/s13034-015-0036-9 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
“Step 1: Regression analyses were performed with the total EAS score [75] at T2 and T3, respectively, as dependent variables, and with the EAS score at T1, the treatment group and their products (i.”
MethodEmotional Relationships in Mothers and Infants
Bornstein, M. H., Putnick, D. L., Suwalsky, J. T. D., Venuti, P., de Falco, S., de Galperín, C. Z., Gini, M., & Tichovolsky, M. H. (2010) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022110388563 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
“Furthermore, construct (convergent) validity of the EA Scales has been examined against concurrent and longitudinal measures of attachment in a variety of studies (see Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000, 2005, 2009).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialMcIntosh, J. E., Tan, E. S., Levendosky, A. A., & Holtzworth‐Munroe, A. (2019) · Trauma Violence & Abuse · doi:10.1177/1524838019888560 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“Conversely, inconsistent or disturbed relational interactions led by the mother are characterized by affect dys-synchrony including unreliable, misattuned, and mistimed maternal responses (Beebe et al., 2010) and in turn elevated infant stress and confusion (Biringen, 2000).”
BackgroundEmotional availability in infant psychiatry
Wiefel, A., Wollenweber, S., Oepen, G., Lenz, K., Lehmkuhl, U., & Biringen, Z. C. (2005) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.20059 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Self-citationSafeguarding Children Across Services: Messages from Research
Davies, C., & Ward, H. (2011) · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Nozadi, S. S., Spinrad, T. L., Eisenberg, N., Bolnick, R. R., Eggum, N. D., Smith, C. L., Gaertner, B. M., Kupfer, A. S., & Sallquist, J. (2013) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2013.06.002 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Salomonsson, B., & Sandell, R. (2011) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.20291 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
“ICCs of the various scales have been reported at ∼ .80 (Biringen, 2000).”
InfluentialPlay and emotional availability in young children with Down syndrome
Venuti, P., de Falco, S., Giusti, Z., & Bornstein, M. H. (2008) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.20168 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
“Emotional availability (EA; Biringen & Robinson; Biringen, 2000) is a relationship construct that refers to the quality of emotional exchanges between parents and their children, focusing on the two partners’ accessibility to each other and their ability to read and respond appropriately to one…”
BackgroundInfluentialMother-Infant Musical Interaction and Emotional Communication: A Literature Review
Creighton, A. L. (2011) · The Australian journal of music therapy · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Bornstein, M. H., Suwalsky, J. T. D., Putnick, D. L., Gini, M., Venuti, P., de Falco, S., Heslington, M., & de Galperín, C. Z. (2010) · International Journal of Behavioral Development · doi:10.1177/0165025409339080 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
“More complete descriptions of the Emotional Availability Scales can be found in Biringen and Robinson (1991), Easterbrooks and Biringen (2000, 2005, 2009), and Biringen (2000).”
BackgroundMother–Child and Father–Child Emotional Availability in Families of Children with Down Syndrome
de Falco, S., Venuti, P., Esposito, G., & Bornstein, M. H. (2009) · Parenting · doi:10.1080/15295190902844381 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
“Emotional Availability Emotional availability (EA; Biringen, 2000; Biringen & Robinson, 1991) is a relationship construct that refers specifically to emotional transactions between children and their parents (Aviezer, Sagi, Joels, & Ziv, 1999; Biringen & Robinson, 1991; Bretherton, 2000; Emde,…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialJian, N., & Teti, D. M. (2016) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2016.07.001 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
“Child EA reflects the child’s affective quality and secure base behavior, and consists of dimensions of responsiveness to and involvement with the parent (Biringen, 2000).”
BackgroundInfluentialMantis, I., Stack, D. M., Ng, L., Serbin, L. A., & Schwartzman, A. E. (2014) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2014.04.005 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Dirks, E., & Rieffe, C. J. (2018) · Ear and Hearing · doi:10.1097/aud.0000000000000596 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
“Emotional Availability • The Emotional Availability Scales (EAS), Fourth Edition (Biringen 2000), were used to assess dyadic emotional availability.”
MethodCimino, S., Cerniglia, L., Porreca, A., Ballarotto, G., Marzilli, E., & Simonelli, A. (2018) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.21732 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Reciprocity in Interaction: A Window on the First Year of Life in Autism
Apicella, F., Chericoni, N., Costanzo, V., Baldini, S., Billeci, L., Cohen, D., & Muratori, F. (2013) · Autism Research and Treatment · doi:10.1155/2013/705895 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Infant social and emotional development: Emerging competence in a relational context.
Rosenblum, K. L., Dayton, C. J., & Muzik, M. (2009) · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Human maternal behaviour is associated with arginine vasopressin receptor 1A gene
Avinun, R., Ebstein, R. P., & Knafo‐Noam, A. (2012) · Biology Letters · doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0492 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Brief Report: Maternal Emotional Availability and Infant Pain-related Distress
El-Din, L. K., Riddell, R. P., & Gordner, S. (2008) · Journal of Pediatric Psychology · doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsn110 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“Unfortunately, simple frequency counts of maternal and infant behaviors alone can lead to an incomplete analysis of the quality of caregiving because it does not take into account the quality of affect between mother and infant or the appropriateness of caregiver behaviors (Biringen, 2000).”
Kao, K., Tuladhar, C. T., & Tarullo, A. R. (2020) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-020-01706-4 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Baglioni, C., Tang, N. K. Y., Johann, A. F., Altena, E., Bramante, A., Riemann, D. W., & Palagini, L. (2020) · The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine · doi:10.1080/14767058.2020.1854718 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“tions in the child, and adaptive regulation of emotional exchanges during interactions with the child [55].”
BackgroundHassett, A., Green, C., & Zundel, T. (2018) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/2158244018807786 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Attachment Security in Three‐Year‐Olds who Entered Substitute Care in Infancy
Altenhofen, S., Clyman, R. B., Little, C., Baker, M., & Biringen, Z. C. (2013) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.21401 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
“One caregiver dimension of the EA Scales, Caregiver Sensitivity, includes responsiveness to a child’s signals and communications, in addition to taking into consideration the role of caregiver emotion and conflict regulation with the child (Biringen, 2000).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationMaternal brain resting‐state connectivity in the postpartum period
Dufford, A. J., Erhart, A., & Kim, P. (2019) · Journal of Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1111/jne.12737 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Gueron‐Sela, N., Atzaba‐Poria, N., Meiri, G., & Yerushalmi, B. (2011) · Journal of Pediatric Psychology · doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsr001 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“actional styles (Biringen, 2000).”
BackgroundFraser, J. G., Harris-Britt, A., Thakkallapalli, E. L., Kurtz-Costes, B., & Martin, S. (2010) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.20239 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
The Parent–Infant Interaction Observation Scale: reliability and validity of a screening tool
Svanberg, P. O., Barlow, J., & Tigbe, W. W. (2013) · Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology · doi:10.1080/02646838.2012.751586 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“The Emotional Availability Scales (EAS) (Biringen, 2000) targets older children, while the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBS) (Guedeney & Fermanian, 2001) assesses the infant’s reaction to his/her environment rather than parent–infant interaction.”
BackgroundVulnerable children of mentally ill parents: towards evidence‐based support for improving resilience
Pretis, M., & Dimova, A. (2008) · Support for Learning · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9604.2008.00386.x · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Susman-Stillman, A., Pleuss, J., & Englund, M. M. (2013) · Early Childhood Research Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.04.003 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Lawler, M. J. (2008) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2008.02.007 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Bentenuto, A., Perzolli, S., de Falco, S., & Venuti, P. (2020) · Research in Autism · doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101569 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“…quality within the dyad (Biringen, Damon et al., 2005; Biringen, 2008), other studies showed that a range between 5 and 10min can be sufficient to reliably assess dyadic EA (Ann Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000; Koren-Karie, Oppenheim, Dolev, Sher, & Etzion-Carasso, 2002; de Falco et al., 2009).”
BackgroundTouching behaviors of infants of depressed mothers during normal and perturbed interactions
Moszkowski, R. J., Stack, D. M., Girouard, N., Field, T. M., Hernandez-Reif, M., & Diego, M. (2009) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2008.12.009 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Dix, T. H., Cheng, N., & Day, W. H. (2008) · Social Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00488.x · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Tambelli, R., Odorisio, F., & Lucarelli, L. (2014) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.21448 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Aggressive behaviour in adolescence: Links with self‐esteem and parental emotional availability
Babore, A., Carlucci, L., Cataldi, F., Phares, V., & Trumello, C. (2017) · Social Development · doi:10.1111/sode.12236 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Qouta, S., Vänskä, M., Diab, S. Y., & Punamäki, R. (2021) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101532 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Altenhofen, S., Sutherland, K., & Biringen, Z. C. (2010) · Journal of Divorce & Remarriage · doi:10.1080/10502551003597782 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
“Emotional availability emphasizes the importance of both sides of the parent–child relationship, rather than focusing solely on the parent, and specifically on parental sensitivity, which is the construct that has dominated attachment research and theory ( Biringen, 2000 ; Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000 ).”
BackgroundSelf-citationRossen, L., Mattick, R. P., Wilson, J., Clare, P. J., Burns, L., ALLSOP, S. J., Elliott, E. J., Jacobs, S., Olsson, C. A., & Hutchinson, D. M. (2019) · Maternal and Child Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10995-019-02809-1 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“Construct validity has also been established (Biringen 2000).”
BackgroundMaternal sleep patterns and parenting quality during infants’ first 6 months.
Bai, L., Whitesell, C. J., & Teti, D. M. (2019) · Journal of Family Psychology · doi:10.1037/fam0000608 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“At each age point, maternal emotional availability (EA) during one night of infant bedtime was observed and scored using the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS; Biringen, 2000) as the indicator of parenting quality.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialMaternal emotional availability during infant bedtime: An ecological framework.
Kim, B. R., & Teti, D. M. (2013) · Journal of Family Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0035157 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“We specifically examined predictive linkages between mothers' depressive symptoms, coparenting relationship quality, maternal and infant sleep, infant temperament, and parenting quality, deñned here as mothers' emotional availability (EA; Biringen, 2000), during infant bedtimes when infants were 9 months of age.”
Flierman, M., Koldewijn, K., Meijssen, D., van Wassenaer-Leemhuis, A., Aarnoudse-Moens, C., van Schie, P., & Jeukens-Visser, M. (2016) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.05.071 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Dagan, O., Buisman, R. S. M., Nivison, M. D., Waters, T. E. A., Vaughn, B. E., Bost, K. K., Bleil, M. E., Vandell, D. L., Booth‐LaForce, C., & Roisman, G. I. (2020) · Attachment & Human Development · doi:10.1080/14616734.2020.1836858 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“…the availability of caregivers at times of need (e.g. a parent who is unresponsive, rejecting, or overinvolved), which is often a derivative of parental insensitivity (Biringen, 2000), is likely to stand in the way of constructing more access to, and elaborated knowledge of the secure base script.”
Background
- Authors
- Biringen, Z.
- Affiliations
- Colorado State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Biringen, Zeynep
- ORCID
- Biringen, Zeynep
- Venue
- American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
- Published
- 2000
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 104-114
- ISSN
- 0002-9432 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0025
- OpenAlex
- W2045074187
- Cited by
- 338
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 2.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- emotional availability, parent-child interaction, parental sensitivity, child responsiveness, parental involvement, attachment, parent-child relationship
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Models, Psychological, Parent-Child Relations, Parenting
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