AUTHOR=Saunders Hannah , Kraus Allyson , Barone Lavinia , Biringen Zeynep 

TITLE=Emotional availability: theory, research, and intervention

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2015

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01069

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01069

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Attachment Theory (Bowlby, 1969) and its limitations are first described. Next, emotional availability (EA; Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 1998; Biringen, 2008) is introduced as an expansion upon the original conceptualization of the parent-child attachment relationship. As a construct and as a measure, EA considers the dyadic and emotional qualities of adult-child relationships. EA is predictive of a variety of child outcomes, such as attachment security, emotion regulation, and school readiness. Recently developed programs to enhance adult-child emotional availability are described.