The DOI matches its Crossref record; 36 of the 36 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
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 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]
Citations
Cites
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“Given the recent debate about the modest effect sizes in predicting attachment from maternal sensitivity (van Uzendoorn, 1995), the EA approach may provide context for a more multifaceted look at the interactional correlates of attachment.”
BackgroundMain, M., & Solomon, J. (2026) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003569978-2 · Cited by 1,978
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Items 301–338 of 338
An early interaction music therapy model
Lipponen, A. (2014) · Jyväskylä University Digital Archive (University of Jyväskylä)
Parent Education Seminar: Children's Emotional Development
Kase, B. E. (2008) · ePublications at Regis University (Regis University)
The Relational Context of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health
Shulman, C. (2016) · Children's well-being · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-31181-4_6
Vinall, J. F. (2015) · cIRcle (University of British Columbia) · doi:10.14288/1.0166783
“*44 children (46%) were born EGLA, 52 children (54%) were born VLGA CBCL, Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach and Rescorla 2000); EA, Emotional Availability (Biringen 2000); IQR, interquartile range; Bayley MDI, Bayley Mental Development Index (Bayley 1993); PSI, Parenting Stress Index (Abidin 1995).”
BackgroundBeall, J. A. (2007) · Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide)
Hawk, B. N., & Timmer, S. G. (2018) · Clinical Case Studies · doi:10.1177/1534650118774417
“The EA scales’ strong links to parents’ and children’s attachment styles (Biringen, 2000; Easterbrooks, Biesecker, & Lyons-Ruth, 2000) and ability to be used in any assessment setting made them an ideal choice for this study.”
Backgroundvan Ee, E., Jongmans, M. J., van der Aa, N., & Kleber, R. J. (2018) · Gezinstherapie Wereldwijd · doi:10.1007/s12440-018-0080-x
León, I., López, M. J. R., Quiñones, I., Hernandez-Cabrera, J. A., & García‐Pentón, L. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.01.29.924613
“We examined the brain structure-behavior association in NM using Emotional Availability (EA), measured through a mother-child play task, as a proxy for the quality of mother-child bonding interactions (Biringen, 2000; Biringen et al., 2014).”
MethodSeven, Z. D., & Seven, S. (2020) · New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences · doi:10.18844/prosoc.v7i1.4878
How does adolescent motherhood affect mother–infant/toddler relationship and emotional availability
Uytun, M. Ç., Yürümez, E., Öztop, D. B., Babayiğit, T. M., Efendi, G. Y., & Kılıç, B. G. (2020) · International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice · doi:10.1080/13651501.2020.1828936
“In the relationship, emotional availability emphasises the importance of both sides of the parent–child dyad, rather than focussing solely on the parent, and also inclines parental sensitivity (Ann Easterbrooks and Biringen 2000; Biringen 2000).”
BackgroundDostępność rodziców w dzieciństwie a przywiązanie do partnera w związku intymnym
Alabrudzińska, A., & Bakiera, L. T. (2021) · Człowiek i Społeczeństwo · doi:10.14746/cis.2021.51.3
“Zwraca się również uwagę na wrażliwość rodzicielską (sensitivity), nienachalność (non-intrusiveness) w kontakcie z dzieckiem i brak wrogości rodzica (non-hostility) (Biringen, 2000).”
Weelden, V., & Christine, J. (2019) · Digital Commons-DePaul (DePaul University)
Das ist kein Spiel! – Psychotherapie mit vernachlässigten Kindern
von Klitzing, K. (2022) · Kinderanalyse · doi:10.21706/ka-30-4-316
Play in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Bentenuto, A., Perzolli, S., de Falco, S., & Venuti, P. (2022) · Advances in psychology, mental health, and behavioral studies (APMHBS) book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-6684-5068-0.ch013
León, I., Góngora, D., Rodrigo, M. J., Herrero-Roldán, S., Rodríguez, M. L., Mitchell, C. M., Fisher, J., & Iturria‐Medina, Y. (2023) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3343636/v1
Gennis, H. G., Flora, D. B., McMurtry, C. M., Flanders, D. W., Weinberg, E., Savlov, D., Garfield, H., & Riddell, R. P. (2023) · European Journal of Pain · doi:10.1002/ejp.2197
“…as an important first step, it is possible that broader parent sensitivity, as measured by variables such as the Emotional Availability Scales (e.g. Biringen, 2000; Pillai Riddell et al., 2011) as well as discrete insensitive behaviours, such as parent display of frustration (e.g. Badovinac et…”
BackgroundLeón, I., Góngora, D., López, M. J. R., Herrero-Roldán, S., Rodríguez, M. L., Mitchell, C. M., Fisher, J., & Iturria‐Medina, Y. (2023) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3343636/v2
Ebeveyn Duygusal Erişilebilirliği ve Evlilik Doyumu
Batuk, Z. N., & Güven, N. (2025) · Özgür Yayınları eBooks · doi:10.58830/ozgur.pub682.c2859
Developmental Screening and Family Resilience for Infants and Toddlers in Homeless Shelters
Herbers, J. E., Abdul-Masih, M. Y., Buccelli, A. R., Torre, N., Pintarelli, E. M., & Cutuli, J. J. (2025) · Infancy · doi:10.1111/infa.70019
Cloud, Z. C. G., Kehoe, C. E., Wright, B., Havighurst, S. S., & Treyvaud, K. (2025) · Parenting · doi:10.1080/15295192.2025.2519280
“The EAS have adequate construct validity and are stable over time and across contexts (Bornstein, Gini, Putnick, et al., 2006; Bornstein, Gini, Suwalsky, et al., 2006; Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000, 2005).”
InfluentialSansone, A., Stapleton, P., Patching, A., & Lawrence, Z. (2025) · OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.21926/obm.icm.2504046
Andringa, S. (2010) · Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University)
Parental Emotional Availability: A Conceptual Review
Duman, A. E. (2025) · Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry · doi:10.18863/pgy.1680105
Laurent, H. K., Goodman, S., & Roeser, R. W. (2026) · Child Development Perspectives · doi:10.1093/cdpers/aadaf006
Prag, A., Hoffman, N., Stromin, J., Zar, H. J., Stein, D. J., & Malcolm‐Smith, S. (2026) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-025-01958-5
Father-child interactions in autism: A multivariate analysis of behavioral patterns in Italian dyads
Perzolli, S., Bertamini, G., Venuti, P., & Bentenuto, A. (2026) · Research in Developmental Disabilities · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.105196
Mutual Sensitivity Between Caregivers Predicts Infant Affective State During Video Chat
Roche, E., Piper, D. J., Strouse, G. A., Myers, L. J., Zosh, J. M., Troseth, G. L., & Barr, R. (2026) · Infancy · doi:10.1111/infa.70068
“Out of this mutuality, caregiver sensitivity —an individual caregiver's warmth and responsiveness to the child (Biringen 2000)—is a key predictor of long‐term child outcomes (Madigan et al. 2024; Tamis‐LeMonda et al. 2001).”
Maternal empathy and emotional availability: the moderating role of child negative affectivity
Hijleh, A., Laor, T. K., Israeli‐Ran, L., & Uzefovsky, F. (2026) · Attachment & Human Development · doi:10.1080/14616734.2026.2651088
“From the earliest days of life, sensitive caregiving plays a crucial role in shaping children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development (Biringen, 2000; Easterbrooks et al., 2012; Tamis LeMonda, 1996).”
Attachement, régulation émotionnelle et santé mentale dans la transition a la maternité
Toléon, C. (2023) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/2adcbc01z9e97z4d3bz891dz66e4bca28264
Fındık, H., & Çimen, İ. D. (2026) · Acta Medica Nicomedia · doi:10.53446/actamednicomedia.1784235
Aljaberi, M. A. A., Sabah, A., Lin, Y.-C., Mazruii, A. A. A., Lee, C., & Lin, C. (2026) · Infant and Child Development · doi:10.1002/icd.70131
Liu, J., Rong, J., Zhu, L., & Zhang, Y. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1850205
“Attachment theory emphasizes that the formation of secure parent–child attachment depends on parents’ sensitive perception and timely response to children’s signals, and specifically elucidates how the quality of this subsystem connection affects individual development (Biringen, 2000).”
Prino, L. E., & Scarzello, D. (2026) · European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education · doi:10.3390/ejihpe16090132
“It also encompasses the ability to appropriately structure interactions, maintain a nonintrusive and nonhostile stance, and foster emotionally reciprocal exchanges with the child (Biringen, 2000; Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000).”
Almougy, S., & Talmon, A. (2026) · Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology · doi:10.1080/02646838.2026.2725080
Early Childhood Emotional, Relational, and Stress‐Related Outcomes Following Infant Cardiac Surgery
Clancy, T. A., de Weerth, C., Muscara, F., & Jordan, B. (2026) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.70200
“The videoed interaction was coded according to Biringen ( 2000 ) by two coders trained and certified as reliable by the developer of the EA coding system (Biringen 2008 ).”
Lee, J., Marvin, M. J., Ballinger, A. L., Bogat, G. A., Nuttall, A. K., & Levendosky, A. A. (2026) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.70122
“This version was adapted by the MSU Family Project (Whipple et al., 1993), based on Belsky’s Parent–Child Interaction Coding System (Belsky et al., 1991), and incorporated elements from the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2000).”
Metadata
- 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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