Cited by 338Attachment and Relationship DynamicsChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research

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Emotional availability: Conceptualization and research findings.

Biringen, Zeynep·2000·American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

DOI 10.1037/h0087711

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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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Background
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Method
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Background
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Result
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Self-citation
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Method
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BackgroundMethodInfluential
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Background
Emotional 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
Self-citation
Safeguarding Children Across Services: Messages from Research
Davies, C., & Ward, H. (2011) · Cited by 52
Prediction of toddlers’ expressive language from maternal sensitivity and toddlers’ anger expressions: A developmental perspective
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
A randomized controlled trial of mother–infant psychoanalytic treatment: I. Outcomes on self‐report questionnaires and external ratings
Salomonsson, B., & Sandell, R. (2011) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.20291 · Cited by 52
“ICCs of the various scales have been reported at ∼ .80 (Biringen, 2000).”
Influential
Play 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
“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…”
BackgroundInfluential
Mother-Infant Musical Interaction and Emotional Communication: A Literature Review
Creighton, A. L. (2011) · The Australian journal of music therapy · Cited by 51
Developmental continuity and stability of emotional availability in the family: Two ages and two genders in child-mother dyads from two regions in three countries
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 55
“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).”
Background
Mother–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
“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,…”
BackgroundResultInfluential
Emotional availability at bedtime, infant temperament, and infant sleep development from one to six months
Jian, N., & Teti, D. M. (2016) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2016.07.001 · Cited by 56
“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).”
BackgroundInfluential
Mutual touch during mother–infant face-to-face still-face interactions: Influences of interaction period and infant birth status
Mantis, 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
Are You There for Me? Joint Engagement and Emotional Availability in Parent–Child Interactions for Toddlers With Moderate Hearing Loss
Dirks, E., & Rieffe, C. J. (2018) · Ear and Hearing · doi:10.1097/aud.0000000000000596 · Cited by 47
“Emotional Availability • The Emotional Availability Scales (EAS), Fourth Edition (Biringen 2000), were used to assess dyadic emotional availability.”
Method
IMPACT OF PARENTAL BINGE EATING DISORDER: EXPLORING CHILDREN'S EMOTIONAL/BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AND THE QUALITY OF PARENT–CHILD FEEDING INTERACTIONS
Cimino, S., Cerniglia, L., Porreca, A., Ballarotto, G., Marzilli, E., & Simonelli, A. (2018) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.21732 · Cited by 45
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 55
Infant social and emotional development: Emerging competence in a relational context.
Rosenblum, K. L., Dayton, C. J., & Muzik, M. (2009) · Cited by 45
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 46
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
“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).”
Parental and Family-Level Sociocontextual Correlates of Emergent Emotion Regulation: Implications for Early Social Competence
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
Insomnia and poor sleep quality during peripartum: a family issue with potential long term consequences on mental health
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
“tions in the child, and adaptive regulation of emotional exchanges during interactions with the child [55].”
Background
Parental Involvement: A Grounded Theory of the Role of Parents in Adolescent Help Seeking for Mental Health Problems
Hassett, A., Green, C., & Zundel, T. (2018) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/2158244018807786 · Cited by 43
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 58
“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-citation
Maternal 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
Maternal Worries about Child Underweight Mediate and Moderate the Relationship Between Child Feeding Disorders and Mother-Child Feeding Interactions
Gueron‐Sela, N., Atzaba‐Poria, N., Meiri, G., & Yerushalmi, B. (2011) · Journal of Pediatric Psychology · doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsr001 · Cited by 41
“actional styles (Biringen, 2000).”
Background
Emotional availability and psychosocial correlates among mothers in substance-abuse treatment and their young infants.
Fraser, 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
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
“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.”
Background
Vulnerable 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 35
Attitudes and beliefs of family- and center-based child care providers predict differences in caregiving behavior over time
Susman-Stillman, A., Pleuss, J., & Englund, M. M. (2013) · Early Childhood Research Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.04.003 · Cited by 37
Maltreated children's emotional availability with kin and non-kin foster mothers: A sociobiological perspective
Lawler, M. J. (2008) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2008.02.007 · Cited by 37
The emotional availability in mother-child and father-child interactions in families with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Bentenuto, A., Perzolli, S., de Falco, S., & Venuti, P. (2020) · Research in Autism · doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101569 · Cited by 47
“…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).”
Background
Touching 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
Connecting with Parents: Mothers' Depressive Symptoms and Responsive Behaviors in the Regulation of Social Contact by One‐ and Young Two‐year‐olds
Dix, T. H., Cheng, N., & Day, W. H. (2008) · Social Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00488.x · Cited by 36
PRENATAL AND POSTNATAL MATERNAL REPRESENTATIONS IN NONRISK AND AT-RISK PARENTING: EXPLORING THE INFLUENCES ON MOTHER-INFANT FEEDING INTERACTIONS
Tambelli, R., Odorisio, F., & Lucarelli, L. (2014) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.21448 · Cited by 37
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
War trauma and infant motor, cognitive, and socioemotional development: Maternal mental health and dyadic interaction as explanatory processes
Qouta, S., Vänskä, M., Diab, S. Y., & Punamäki, R. (2021) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101532 · Cited by 37
Families Experiencing Divorce: Age at Onset of Overnight Stays, Conflict, and Emotional Availability as Predictors of Child Attachment
Altenhofen, S., Sutherland, K., & Biringen, Z. C. (2010) · Journal of Divorce & Remarriage · doi:10.1080/10502551003597782 · Cited by 35
“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-citation
Mother–Infant Bonding and Emotional Availability at 12-Months of Age: The Role of Early Postnatal Bonding, Maternal Substance Use and Mental Health
Rossen, 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
“Construct validity has also been established (Biringen 2000).”
Background
Maternal 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
“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.”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Maternal 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
“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.”
Feasibility of a Preventive Parenting Intervention for Very Preterm Children at 18 Months Corrected Age: A Randomized Pilot Trial
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
Does secure base script knowledge mediate associations between observed parental caregiving during childhood and adult romantic relationship quality and health?
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
“…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
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2000
Volume: 70
Issue: 1
Pages: 104-114
ISSN: 0002-9432 (ISSN-L)
1939-0025
DOI: 10.1037/h0087711
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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Emotional availability: Conceptualization and research findings.

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