David Oppenheim, PhD
The Center for Research in Child Development | The School of Psychological Sciences
University of Haifa, Israel
About Me
I am a Developmental Psychologist and currently Head of the Center for the Study of Child Development. My primary research interests are in parent-child relationships during early childhood and their impact on children's socioemotional development. My interests are in parenting of Typically Developing children but also those with Atypical Development, such as children with Autism.
I see parental insightfulness – the capacity to see and feel things from the child's point of view as a powerful factor that underlies sensitive parenting and provides children a deep feeling of being understood and secure.. Read More
Latest Publications
2025
Oppenheim, D., Dolev, S., Hamburger, L., Lottan, R., Kunst, S., Friedelman, J., ... & Yirmiya, N. (2025). The Association Between Classroom Quality and the Social Competence of Autistic Preschool-Age Boys. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-9. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-025-06747-6 View
Oppenheim, D., Mottes‐Peleg, M., Hamburger, L., Slonim, M., Maccabi, Y., & Yirmiya, N. (2025). The social skills of autistic boys in preschool: the contributions of their dyadic and triadic interactions with their parents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14061 View
Slonim, M., Oppenheim, D., Maccabi, Y., Hamburger, L., Kalir, C., Koren-Karie, N., & Yirmiya, N. (2025). Coparenting Representations and Interactions Among Parents of Preschoolers with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Parenting, 25(1), 23-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2024.2426675 View
2024
Moshe, S., Oppenheim, D., Slonim, M., Hamburger, L., Maccabi, Y., & Yirmiya, N. (2024). Positive and challenging themes in parents’ perceptions of their relationships with their child with autism: Comparison between mothers and fathers. Autism, 28(3), 744-754. https://doi.org/10.1177/136236132311825 View
Oppenheim, D., Bernard, K., Dozier, M., Lieberman, A. F., Mays, M & West, J. (2024). An Invited Commentary on Mentoring in Infant Mental Health: A Symposium Commemorating Robert N. Emde. Infant Mental Health Journal , 45(5), 569-578. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.22127 View
Oppenheim, D., Koren-Karie, N., Slonim, M., Mottes-Peleg, M., Sher-Censor, E., Dolev, S., & Yirmiya, N. (2024). Maternal and paternal insightfulness and reaction to the diagnosis in families of preschoolers with Autism spectrum disorder: associations with observed parental sensitivity and inter-parent interaction. Attachment & Human Development, 26(1), 22-40. View
Sher-Censor, E., Harel, M., Oppenheim, D., & Aran, A. (2024). Parental Representations and Emotional Availability: The Case of Children with Autism and Severe Behavior Problems. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-14. View
Tamari, R., Aviezer, O., & Oppenheim, D. (2024). Early maternal guidance of mother-child emotion dialogues predicts adolescents’ attachment representations: a longitudinal study. Attachment & Human Development, 26(5), 446-463. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2024.2391310 View
2023
Ariav-Paraira, I., Oppenheim, D., & Sagi-Schwartz, A., & Zreik, G. (2023). Disrupted Maternal Communication and Disorganized Attachment in the Arab Society in Israel. Infant Mental Health Journal, 1-13. View
Opie, J. E., Booth, A. T., Rossen, L., Fivaz‐Depeursinge, E., Duschinsky, R., Newman, L., ... & McHale, J. P. (2023). Initiating the dialogue between infant mental health and family therapy: a qualitative inquiry and recommendations. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 44(4), 412-439. https://doi.org/10.1002/anzf.1569. View
Oppenheim, D., Koren-Karie, N., Hamburger, L., Maccabi, Y., Slonim, M., & Yirmiya, N. (2023). Parental insightfulness is associated with mother-father-child interactions among families of preschoolers with an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry. View
Yuval-Adler, S., & Oppenheim, D. (2023). The contribution of mother-father-child interactions to children's emotion narratives. Social Development, 32(1), 299-314. View
2022
Ariav-Paraira, I., Oppenheim, D., & Sagi-Schwartz, A. (2022). The combined contribution of maternal sensitivity and disrupted affective communication to infant attachment in an Israeli sample. Attachment and Human Development, 1-18. View
Cohen, L., et al., (2022). Emotional availability in dyads of nursing aide-resident with dementia: Old tool, new perspective. Dementia, 21(3):882-898. View
Cohen, L., et al., (2022). Nursing Aides’ Mentalization, Expressed Emotion, and Observed Interaction with Residents with Dementia: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Geriatric Nursing, 45, 100-107. View
Oppenheim, D., et al., (2022). Attachment to fathers and mothers in preschoolers with an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. Attachment & Human Development. View
Zreik, G., Golden, D., & Oppenheim, D. (2022). Challenges of Mothering in Extended Families: The Case of Palestinian Mothers in Israel. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 53(6), 626–642 . View
2021
Ariav-Paraira, I., et al. (2021). Disrupted Affective Communication Characterizes Mothers of Infants with Disorganized but also Ambivalent Attachments: An Israeli study. Child Development. View
Oppenheim, D. & Koren-Karie, N. (2021). Parental Insightfulness and Parent-Child Emotion Dialogues: Shaping children's Internal Working Models. In R. Thompson, J. Simpson, & L. Berlin (Eds.), Attachment: The fundamental questions (pp. 120-127). View
Current Projects
Family interactions with preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Read more..
The effectiveness of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) in a community setting: Relation with maternal sensitivity, child social responsiveness and the moderating role of maternal insightfulness. (Yamit Karabeknik, PhD project). Read more..