Research
30+ years of research; 25+ countries
Over 450 peer-reviewed articles from independent research labs
Special issues in journals have been dedicated to disseminating national and international contributions (including in Attachment and Human Development, 2000, Infant Mental Health Journal, 2005, and Parenting: Science and Practice, 2009). A comprehensive review is Biringen et al. (2014) in Development Review. Three additional review articles have been published, one Clark et al (2021) in Brain Sciences, and two by Biringen et al. (2022, 2023), both in Human Development. Please go through the below articles knowing that when you click on the doi link, you can directly see the abstract. Many of the articles also have other clickable links that take you directly to the full article. Still others are open-access journals and if you type in the full title on the web, you should be able to see the article in totality. The attachments below show easily printable versions, one being by research area and the other the alphabetical list. The alphabetical reference list has only one mention of a specific work, whereas 'by areas' list often puts the same reference in multiple locations, e.g., 'preterms' as well as 'attachment', if that is relevant.
EA publications: Studies of basic science, prevention/intervention, and clinical applications
Wang, J., Saunders, H., Skillern Fisher, S., Shephard, K., Mone, J. G., & Biringen, Z. (2019). Children’s adjustment to kindergarten: Predictions from mother-child emotional availability and children’s narratives prior to school entry. Perspectives in Early Childhood Psychology and Education, 4, 39-69. No doi located.
Wang, J., Saunders, H., Skillern Fisher, S., Shephard, K., Mone, J. G., & Biringen, Z. (2019). Children’s adjustment to kindergarten: Predictions from mother-child emotional availability and children’s narratives prior to school entry. Perspectives in Early Childhood Psychology and Education, 4, 39-69. No doi located.
Weifel, A., Oepen, G. & Biringen, Z. (2005). Emotional availability in infant psychiatry. Infant Mental Health Journal, 392-403. PMID: 28682447 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.20059
Whittingham K., Sheffield, J., Mak, C., Wright, A., & Boyd, R.N. (2022). Parenting Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An RCT of an online course with families of children with CP. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 155. PMID: 35662680 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104129
Whittingham, K. & Mitchell, A.E. (2021). Birth, Breastfeeding, psychological flexibility and self-compassion as predictors of mother-infant emotional availability in a cross-sectional study. Infant Mental Health Journal, 42, 718-730. PMID: 34189747 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21935
Whittingham, K., McGlade, A., Kulasinghe, K., Mitchell, A.E., Heussler, H., & Boyd, R.N. (2020). ENACT (ENvironmental enrichment for infants; parenting with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy): A randomised controlled trial of an innovative intervention for infants at risk of autism spectrum disorder. BMJ Open, 10. PMID: 32819928 PMCID: PMC7440709 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034315
Whittingham, K., McGlade, A., Kulasinghe, K., Mitchell, A.E., Heussler, H., & Boyd, R.N. (2020). ENACT (ENvironmental enrichment for infants; parenting with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy): A randomised controlled trial of an innovative intervention for infants at risk of autism spectrum disorder. BMJ Open, 10. PMID: 32819928 PMCID: PMC7440709 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034315
Whittingham, K., Palmer, C., Douglas, P., Creedy, D.K., & Sheffield, J. (2020). Evaluating the "Possums" Health Professional Training in parent-infant sleep. Infant Mental Health Journal, 41, 603-613. PMID: 32881036 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21885
Whittingham, K., Palmer, C., Douglas, P., Creedy, D.K., & Sheffield, J. (2020). Evaluating the "Possums" Health Professional Training in parent-infant sleep. Infant Mental Health Journal, 41, 603-613. PMID: 32881036 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21885
Whittingham, K., Sheffield, J., & Boyd, R.N. (2016). Parenting acceptance and commitment therapy: A randomised controlled trial of an innovative online course for families of children with cerebral palsy. BMJ Open, 6. PMID: 27798022 PMCID: PMC5073654 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012807
Whittingham, K., Sheffield, J., & Boyd, R.N. (2016). Parenting acceptance and commitment therapy: A randomised controlled trial of an innovative online course for families of children with cerebral palsy. BMJ Open, 6. PMID: 27798022 PMCID: PMC5073654 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012807
Whittingham, K., Sheffield, J., Mak, C., Dickinson, C., Boyd, R.N. (2020). Early parenting Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 'Early PACT' for parents of infants with cerebral palsy: A study protocol of a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 10: :e037033. PMID: 33039994 PMCID: PMC7552872 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037033
Whittingham, K., Sheffield, J., Mak, C., Dickinson, C., Boyd, R.N. (2020). Early parenting Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 'Early PACT' for parents of infants with cerebral palsy: A study protocol of a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 10: :e037033. PMID: 33039994 PMCID: PMC7552872 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037033
Wünsche, S., and K. Brisch. (2011). Emotional availability of VLBW infants and their mothers in post-stress and play situations. Infant Mental Health Journal, 32, 183-184. NJ, USA: Wiley-Blackwell. No doi located.
Wurster, H., Sarche, M., Trucksess, C., Morse, B., & Biringen, Z. (2020). Parents' adverse childhood experiences and parent-child emotional availability in an American Indian Community: Relations with young children's social-emotional development. Development and Psychopathology, 32, 425-436. PMID: 30919805. DOI: 10.1017/S095457941900018X
Wurster, H.E., & Biringen, Z. (2020). Validity of the Emotional Attachment Zones Evaluation (EA-Z): Assessing attachment style across a developmental spectrum. Perspectives in Early Childhood Psychology and Education, 5, 5-54. DOI: 10.58948/2834-8257.1040
Yakov, P, Levavi, K., Uzefovsky, F., Pike, A., Deater-Deckard, K., Hadar, A., Bar, G., Froimovici, M., & Atzaba-Poria, N. F(2025). Firstborn's empathy and the sibling relationship quality: The moderating role of maternal emotional availability. Developmental Psychology 61, 691-699. PMID: 39480299 DOI: 10.1037/dev0001857
Zeddies, T. (2000). A psychoanalytic unconscious and emotional availability: aspects in the development of analysts and analytic therapists. American Journal of Psychoanalysis. 60, 57-69. PMID: 10758769 DOI: 10.1023/a:1001827928564
Zelkowitz, P., Papageorgiou, A., Bardin, C., & Wang, T. (2009). Persistent maternal anxiety affects the interaction between mothers and their very low birthweight children at 24 months. Early Human Development, 85, 51-58. PMID: 18632229 DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2008.06.010
Zimmerman, L, & McDonald L. (1995). Emotional availability in infants' relationships with multiple caregivers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 65, 147-52. PMID: 7733210 DOI: 10.1037/h0079586
Zimmerman, L., & Fassle, I. (2003). The dynamics of emotional availability in childcare: How infants involve and respond to their teen mothers and childcare teachers. Infants & Young Children, 16, 258-269. DOI: 10.1097/00001163-200307000-00008
Ziv, Y., Kaplan, B.A., & Venza, J. (2016). Practicing attachment in the real world: Improving maternal insightfulness and dyadic emotional availability at an outpatient community mental health clinic. Attachment & Human Development, 18, 1469-2988. PMID: 26824790 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2015.1135972
Ziv, Y., Sagi, A., Karie-Koren, N., & Joaels, T. (1996). Quality of infant-mother attachment as related to maternal emotional availability and infant reactivity. Infant Behavior and Development 19(Supp-S1): 193-0 No doi located.
Ziv, Y., Umphlet, K., Olarte, S., & Venza J. (2018). Early childhood trauma in high-risk families: Associations with caregiver emotional availability and insightfulness, and children’s social information processing and social behavior. Attachment & Human Development, 20, 309-33. PMID: 29513078 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2018.1446738