Although there is robust evidence of the benefits of attachment-based parenting interventions, limited research has examined their impact on dyadic mutuality and toddler behavior problems. Given the central question in prevention research of what works for whom, and the documented relation of maternal psychological risk to parenting and…

The current study explored similarities and differences in parenting stress (PSI) and behaviours in parent reports of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attachment disorder (AD). 155 parents whose children had developmental delays and disorders completed the social communication questionnaire, Randolph attachment questionnaire, strengths and…

The benefits of mindfulness have been noticed in academics, but whether and how perceived mindful parenting prevents maladaptive academic behaviours (e.g. rigid persistence, self-handicapping, and compulsive learning behaviour) have rarely been discussed. Therefore, a model of perceived mindful parenting, insecure attachment, children mindfulness,…

Children who have experienced significant early life adversities and trauma are at a greater risk of developing social, emotional, behavioural and mental-health needs. This can result in stress in the carer/parent-child relationship which can have a negative impact on placement stability. Recent research and national policies have stressed the…

Children who are adopted at an older age through foster care and those adopted from overseas orphanages are at high risk for behavioral and emotional distress. This important manual presents a structured, evidence-based protocol for providing mental health treatment to families adopting vulnerable children. Drawing on their extensive clinical…

Empirical research investigating the growing population of children raised by grandparents remains sparse. Much of the research examines the grandparents' functioning and suggests that they experience heightened psychosocial distress. Although the children are reported to manifest psychosocial and behavioral difficulty, a dearth of empirical…

The studies reported here aimed to test the proposal that mind-mindedness is a quality of personal relationships by assessing mind-mindedness in caregiver-child dyads in which the relationship has not spanned the child's life or in which the relationship has been judged dysfunctional. Studies 1 and 2 investigated differences in mind-mindedness…

The main objective of the current study was to examine the impact of two child risk factors, i.e. personality and inhibition, and two proximal family risk factors, i.e. parenting and attachment, and the impact of their cumulative effect on later externalizing behavior among young children incurring no distal family risk. Data were collected in a…

Disoriented, punitive, and caregiving/role-confused attachment behaviors are associated with psychopathology in childhood, but have not been assessed in adolescence. A total of 120 low-income late adolescents (aged 18-23 years) and parents were assessed in a conflict-resolution paradigm. Their interactions were coded with the Goal-Corrected…

Background: In spite of the proven effectiveness of parenting based programs to prevent adolescent risk behaviors, such programs are rarely implemented in Mediterranean countries. Objective: This pilot study was aimed at assessing the feasibility and the effects of a parenting based universal prevention program (Connect) in Italy. Methods: Our…

This study examined activative fathering observed during father--child interactions in the family home, focusing on the relation between activative fathering at children aged four and children's behaviour dysregulation and sociability at children aged five. One hundred twenty-seven families participated in the study. Activative fathering was…

We examined behavior problems in 80 adolescents (39 male; mean age = 15.74 years) adopted in early childhood by Canadians from globally depriving Romanian institutions. Overall, rates of clinically significant behavior problems were comparable to rates found in younger postinstitutionalized adopted children. The association between duration of…

Attachment theory provides an interesting background for thinking about externalizing behavior (EB) in early childhood and for understanding how parenting influences the child's outcomes. The study examined how attachment and parenting could be combined to explain preschoolers' EB. Data were collected from 117 preschoolers aged from 4 to 6…

Background: Children reared in institutions experience elevated rates of psychiatric disorders. Inability to form a secure attachment relationship to a primary caregiver is posited to be a central mechanism in this association. We determined whether the ameliorative effect of a foster care (FC) intervention on internalizing disorders in previously…

The impacts of violence for young children and their caregivers are multidimensional. The story of 2-year-old Tyronne, his mother, Josephine, and his father, James, illustrates the use of a relationship-focused treatment, child-parent psychotherapy (CPP), in addressing the traumatic consequences of exposure to violence. This family's story…