The “EA brief”: A single session of parent feedback and coaching to improve emotional attachment and emotional availability (EA)

McConnell, Maren; Closson, Lia; Morse, Bradley; Wurster, Hannah E; Flykt, Marjo; Sarche, Michelle; Biringen, Zeynep

doi:10.1002/imhj.21867

Cited by 9 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…This was the case, also for adopted children, in an EA parent intervention, but not in a control group (Baker et al, 2015) and for both children (child responsiveness) and teachers (structuring) in an EA child care intervention, also compared to a control group (Biringen et al, 2012). In a recent study with a brief parenting intervention with only one session for middle class mother-child dyads from 0 to 3 years (McConnell et al, 2020), only the child dimensions showed significant improvement. In an attachment-based intervention study with multi-cultural, pregnant adolescents in Australia (Nicolson et al, 2013) the intervention group scored significantly higher than the comparison group in two subscales (maternal non-intrusiveness and maternal non-hostility) in a free play situation and additionally in maternal sensitivity in a free play plus separation-reunion setting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Fostering Emotional Availability in Mother-Child-Dyads With an Immigrant Background: A Randomized-Controlled-Trial on the Effects of the Early Prevention Program First Steps

et al. 2022

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BackgroundIn many Western countries like Germany, the social integration of children with an immigrant background has become an urgent social tasks. The probability of them living in high-risk environments and being disadvantaged regarding health and education-related variables is still relatively higher. Yet, promoting language acquisition is not the only relevant factor for their social integration, but also the support of earlier developmental processes associated with adequate early parenting in their first months of life. The Emotional Availability Scales (EAS) measure the quality of caregiver-child-interactions as an indicator of the quality of their relationship and thus of such early parenting, focusing on mutual and emotional aspects of their interaction.MethodThis pilot study examined in a randomized controlled trial the effects of the prevention project First Steps regarding the hypothesis that the Emotional Availability (EA) improved to a greater extent in “difficult-to-reach” immigrant mother-child dyads in a psychoanalytically oriented early intervention (A, FIRST STEPS) compared to a usual care intervention (B) offered by paraprofessionals with an immigrant background. A sample of N = 118 immigrant women in Germany from 37 different countries and their children was compared with regard to the parental EA-dimensions sensitivity, structuring, non-intrusiveness and non-hostility and the child dimensions responsiveness to and involvement of the caregiver in the pre-post RCT design.Results and ConclusionDifferent from what was expected, repeated ANOVAs revealed no significant pre-post group differences for the parental dimensions. For the child dimensions the effect of time of measurement was highly significant, which can be interpreted as mostly natural developmental effects. Still, on the level of simple main effects for each intervention, only in the FIRST STEPS groups child responsiveness significantly improved. When controlled for confounding variables, a significant interaction effect for maternal sensitivity in favor of the FIRST STEPS intervention was found. The systematic group differences indicate that the more extensive and professional intervention, focusing on the individual needs of the participants, is more suitable to support the quality of the mother-child-relationship amongst immigrant mother-child dyads than usual care. The results are discussed taking into account the context of the maternal migration process and potential maternal traumatization.Clinical Trial Registration[https://clinicaltrials.gov], identifier [DRKS00004632].

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Fostering Emotional Availability in Mother-Child-Dyads With an Immigrant Background: A Randomized-Controlled-Trial on the Effects of the Early Prevention Program First Steps

et al. 2022

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“…There were no measurements of observed EA or of objectively measured sleep indicators, such as actigraphy. An additional two studies have shown that the EA-SR improves after intervention with direct coaching about attachment, EA, and use of mindfulness exercises (Baker et al, 2015;McConnell et al, 2020). Baker et al (2015) work was with 0-5-year-olds and McConnell et al ( 2020) studied 0-3-year-olds.…”

Section: Color Version Available Onlinementioning

confidence: 99%

Observed Emotional Availability<bold> (EA) in the Early Months and Adolescence and Self-Reported EA at Any Age: A Narrative Review</bold>

Biringen¹,

Sandoval²,

Flykt³

2023

Human Development

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Emotional availability (EA) is a relational construct that encompasses the ability of a dyad to share an emotionally connected, safe relationship. EA is operationalized by the multidimensional framework, which includes the observational EA Scales, the observational emotional attachment zones (EA-Z), as well as the EA Self-Report (EA-SR). The observational EA Scales measure the mutual interactive influences a child and parent may have on one another through observation of their affect and behavior and consist of 4 adult dimensions (sensitivity, structuring, nonintrusiveness, and nonhostility) and 2 child dimensions (responsiveness and involvement of the adult). The EA-Z refers to “emotional attachment styles” and is based on the summary of the observational EA Scales, assigned separately to adult and child (Emotionally Available, Complicated, Detached, Problematic/Disturbed/Traumatized or Traumatizing), with the potential that the emotional attachment perspective of the adult and child may not be the same. The EA-SR is about parental perceptions rather than observations, which should be taken into account in interpreting its findings. Collectively, these different measurements are referred to as the EA System. In this review, we focus on the EA-SR at any age, as well as EA observations, in the earliest months and adolescence.

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“…However, unlike Marte Meo, this method appears to be able to create improvement for those with mild interactional issues. McConnell et al (2020) conducted a single session of video feedback used for parent coaching for mothers of children 0-3 years of age, combined with the delivery of information (via one workshop that included coverage of mindfulness, attachment, and EA as well as sharing of videos of other parents) and 14 days of texting about attachment, mindfulness, and EA, referred to as the three pillars of practice. There was no control group.…”

Section: Prevention and Intervention Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional Availability: Clinical Populations and Clinical Applications

Biringen¹,

Sandoval²,

Flykt³

et al. 2022

Human Development

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Emotional Availability (EA) is the ability to share an emotional connection within a dyad. The observational EA System includes the EA Scales and the EA Zones. The EA Scales consist of four adult dimensions (sensitivity, structuring, nonintrusiveness, nonhostility) and two child dimensions (responsiveness, involvement). Based on the EA Scales, EA Zones refers to “emotional attachment styles” and are patterned after traditional attachment categories (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Since the review on EA by Biringen et al. (2014), extensive research on EA has utilized the EA Scales or the EA Zones, especially with respect to clinical populations and applications. We address topics absent from the 2014 review, namely utilizing the EA system for at-risk populations and in prevention and intervention studies. We consider EA research accounting for fathers or alternative caregivers and suggest using the whole EA system versus specific dimensions. We conclude with new directions in clinical applications of EA.

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The “EA brief”: A single session of parent feedback and coaching to improve emotional attachment and emotional availability (EA)

Cited by 9 publications

References 26 publications

Fostering Emotional Availability in Mother-Child-Dyads With an Immigrant Background: A Randomized-Controlled-Trial on the Effects of the Early Prevention Program First Steps

Fostering Emotional Availability in Mother-Child-Dyads With an Immigrant Background: A Randomized-Controlled-Trial on the Effects of the Early Prevention Program First Steps

Observed Emotional Availability<bold> (EA) in the Early Months and Adolescence and Self-Reported EA at Any Age: A Narrative Review</bold>

Emotional Availability: Clinical Populations and Clinical Applications

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