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The integration of emotional availability into a developmental psychopathology framework: Reflections on the Special Section and future directions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2012

Zeynep Biringen  and
M. Ann Easterbrooks
Zeynep Biringen*
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
M. Ann Easterbrooks
Affiliation:
Tufts University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Zeynep Biringen, Family and Developmental Studies Program, Colorado State University, 413 Behavioral Sciences, Fort Collins, CO 80523; E-mail: zeynep.biringen@colostate.edu.
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Extract

We appreciate both the opportunity to co-edit this Special Section of Development and Psychopathology and the thoughtful commentaries provided by Marjorie Beeghly, Marc Bornstein, Robert Emde, and David Oppenheim. Their commentaries review historical perspectives, provide new insights, and suggest future horizons for the study of emotional availability (EA) within a developmental psychopathology framework. Along with the collection of empirical studies in this Special Section, they begin to chart a course for further growth and integration of EA into the field of developmental psychopathology. Taking stock of the research on EA, we realize that there is now a sufficient corpus to suggest that research focusing on this construct, as operationalized by the EA Scales (Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 1998) is entering a more mature phase of inquiry. In the last 14 years, research on EA, including several special journal issues on the topic (see Biringen & Easterbrooks, 2008; Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000, 2005, 2009), has explored the methodological concerns, reliability, and validity of the EA Scales and application across different samples and ages. This “critical mass” of knowledge (more than 100 peer-reviewed publications) supports the current focus on asking incisive questions for the field of developmental psychopathology (Cicchetti & Toth, 1995, 2009).

Type
Special Section Response to Commentaries
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 2012 , pp. 137 - 142
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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