Maternal and infant behavior and context associations with mutual emotion availability

Abstract

Emotional availability (EA) is a prominent index of mutual socioemotional adaptation in the parent-infant dyad. This study examines zero-order and unique associations of multiple maternal and infant behavior and context indicators to variation in aspects of EA in mothers and their young infants. The associations to each were explored in separate analyses for maternal sensitivity and infant responsiveness in 369 European American mothers and their firstborn 5½-month-olds. Beyond zero-order relations, robust regression analyses revealed differentiated patterns of unique relations of mother and infant behavior and context indicators to the EA dimensions of maternal sensitivity and infant responsiveness. Although potential behavior and context relations to EA are many, prominent relations to maternal sensitivity and infant responsiveness are few, and patterns of association vary for the two dimensions of EA. Adequate EA is fundamental to a healthy parent-infant relationship, and understanding the behavior and context indicators associated with EA is fundamental to its enhancement.

Socioeconomic disadvantage, neural responses to infant emotions, and emotional availability among first-time new mothers

“…Mothers were instructed to interact with the infant as they typically do without using any toys to maximize direct interactions between mothers and infants. The unstructured and natural play setting is a common setting used to observe maternal behaviors during interactions with infants younger than 12 months, including studies using the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen et al, 1999; Bornstein et al, 2006; Bornstein, Hahn, Suwalsky, & Haynes, 2011; Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2005; Wan et al, 2012)…”

Evaluating Caregiver Sensitivity to Infants: Measures Matter

“…Microlevel coding is considered more straightforward or objective, less open to interpretation, and thus easier to learn and become reliable on. Macrolevel coding is preferred by some researchers and clinicians because “macro‐level constructs tend to be more conceptually attractive and …less labor‐intensive…and … might more accurately abstract a global picture of detailed and complicated data” (Bornstein et al., , p. 87).…”

Emotional relationships between mothers and infants: Knowns, unknowns, and unknown unknowns

“…By contrast, no association obtains between infant cry and maternal emotional availability (Esposito, Venuti, de Falco, & Bornstein, 2009). Responsiveness also correlates with maternal age (Bornstein, Hahn, Suwalsky, et al, 2011). …”

“…(e.g., Berlin, Brady-Smith, & Brooks-Gunn, 2002; Field, 1981; Osofsky & Osofsky, 1970; Rowe, Pan, & Ayoub, 2005). Regardless of maternal age, most mothers and children fall into adequately functioning ranges of the EA Scales (Bornstein, Hahn, Suwalsky, et al, 2011). However, maternal age correlates with maternal EA Scales: as maternal age increases, so do Sensitivity and Structuring (Bornstein, Hahn, Suwalsky, et al, 2011; Bornstein, Putnick, Suwalsky, & Gini, 2006).…”