Abstract
Parental influences are important for a child’s behavior, overall adjustment, as well as cognitive/language development. New research is exploring how relationships with parents can influence a child’s neurobiological functioning and development. In this systematic review, our first aim is to describe how the caregiving environment influences these aspects of child development. The second and main aim is to review and recommend that the concept (and measurement) of “emotional availability” may provide a new window in this continued exploration. Emotional availability (EA) refers to the capacity of a dyad to share an emotionally healthy relationship. The EA Scales assess this construct using a multi-dimensional framework, with a method to measure the affect and behavior of both the child and adult partner (caregiver). In this review, we first provide an overview of child development research, with regards to stress physiology, neuroendocrine system, genetics and epigenetics, and brain mechanisms. We then summarize the results of specific EA research in these areas, and propose a theoretical model integrating these constructs. Finally, we offer areas for future research in this area.
Highlights
There is a great deal of scientific focus on the effect of early experience on a child’s neurobiological functioning and development
Despite finding a connection between parental sensitivity and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), parental sensitivity was not found to mediate links between socioeconomic status (SES) risks and HCC in the 12-month-old group or 3.5-year-old group [52]. These results suggest that the interactions between parent sensitivity and child hair cortisol are likely to be complex, and it would be beneficial for researchers to utilize the entirety of the Emotional availability (EA) Scales in order to more accurately observe how SES risks may play a role in parenting and child cortisol functioning
As the EA field grows in relation to the interconnections of stress and the neuroendocrine system, genetics, epigenetics, and the brain, it is important to utilize all of the EA Scales dimensions, as well as EA zones on emotional attachment, to provide the most comprehensive understanding of the strength and direction of the relations between the different constructs
Summary
There is a great deal of scientific focus on the effect of early experience on a child’s neurobiological functioning and development. Additional work by Neukel, et al [7] indicates that mothers with a history of early maltreatment are more likely to show effort in processing their own infant’s facial expressions of emotion, as evidenced by elevated activation of areas that are associated with the visual processing of faces (e.g., cuneus, middle temporal gyrus). These studies have established the impact of early adverse experiences on brain and physiological functions
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