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Emotional availability in infant psychiatry.
Andreas Wiefel1, Susanne Wollenweber1, Gabrielle Oepen1
1Charité University Medical Center of Berlin.
Infant Mental Health Journal
|July 7, 2017
Summary
Parent-child interactions in psychiatric settings were assessed using the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS). Lower emotional availability correlated with more intensive treatments for infant psychiatric disorders.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychiatry
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Parent-child interaction is crucial in infant mental health.
- Emotional availability (EAS) is a key measure of dyadic functioning.
- Standardized assessment of parent-child interactions aids in understanding infant psychiatric disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between emotional availability and psychiatric diagnoses in young children.
- To explore the correlation between emotional availability ratings and the intensity of recommended therapeutic interventions.
- To highlight the clinical utility of the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS) in child psychiatric settings.
Main Methods:
- Observation of 68 mother-child pairs with children aged 6 weeks to 3 years 10 months.
- Diagnosis of children using the DC 0-3 guidelines.
- Assessment of parent-child interactions using the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS).
- Rating the intensity of recommended therapeutic measures for each dyad.
Main Results:
- The group with feeding disorders exhibited the lowest EAS ratings.
- Children with regulation disorders (sleeping, crying) had the highest EAS ratings, followed by those with externalizing and attachment disorders.
- A significant inverse relationship was found between EAS ratings and the intensity of recommended treatments.
Conclusions:
- Emotional availability is an important indicator in infant psychiatric disorders.
- Standardized observation of parent-child interactions, using tools like the EAS, is valuable for clinical assessment and treatment planning.
- Findings underscore the significance of the parent-child relationship in the context of early childhood mental health interventions.
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