Mother-Child Emotional Availability Across Cultures: Findings from Western and Non-Western Countries

Abstract

Positive emotional relationships between mothers and children are critical to children’s healthy development. Here, we review the literature on cross-cultural differences in emotional availability, emotional responsiveness, and affective attunement between mother and child. Although the research base for Western cultures is expanding, there is limited information available about emotional availability in non-Western cultures. Particularly lacking are cross-cultural studies in general, as well as intra-cultural studies on Asian and African cultures. Based on the limited cross-cultural work on emotional availability, we conclude that emotional availability is a broadly applicable construct and that typically functioning dyads score in the adaptive range on the Emotional Availability Scales regardless of culture. Still, small systematic variations in the emotional availability of dyads across cultures have been documented.