The relationships infants and young children have with their caregivers are fundamental to their survival and well-being. Theorists and researchers across disciplines have attempted to describe and assess the variation in these relationships, leading to a general acceptance that caregiving is critical to understanding child functioning, including developmental psychopathology. At the same time, we lack consensus on how to assess these fundamental relationships. In the present paper, we first review research documenting the importance of the caregiver–child relationship in understanding environmental risk for psychopathology. Second, we propose that the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative provides a useful framework for extending the study of children's risk for psychopathology by assessing their caregivers’ social processes. Third, we describe the units of analysis for caregiver social processes, documenting how the specific subconstructs in the domain of social processes are relevant to the goal of enhancing knowledge of developmental psychopathology. Lastly, we highlight how past research can inform new directions in the study of caregiving and the parent–child relationship through this innovative extension of the RDoC initiative.

One of the most important social relationships in any community is that of parent and child. Parents and primary caregivers are typically tasked with raising their children; however, they are but one of many social agents and structures that contribute to childrens’ overall socialisation. Children’s beliefs, values and behaviours are influenced by the broader social systems in which they are raised, including social and economic ideologies. This commentary aims to build an argument based on a broad collection of literature and research, that Australia’s current variegated form of neoliberalism has the potential to create friction within the parent–child relationship, and questions about the social morality of this position are raised.

This study examined relations among parent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), parent mental distress, child social–emotional functioning, and parent emotional availability (EA) among parents and children served by an Early Head Start program in an American Indian community. The majority of parents and children in the study were American Indian/Alaska Native. American Indian/Alaska Native communities experience relatively high rates of trauma, socioeconomic disparities, and mental health challenges. In this context, young children may be especially vulnerable to early life stress. Further, a strong body of literature demonstrates the long-term effects of ACEs on individuals’ mental health, as well as their child's social–emotional functioning. In this study we examined a model to test the relation of parent ACEs to children's social–emotional functioning, with an indirect effect via a latent “mental distress” variable consisting of parent depression, anxiety, and parenting-related distress. Results supported this model, suggesting that parent ACEs related to children's social–emotional problems by way of parent mental distress. However, when a categorical measure of parent EA was added as a moderator, the model only remained significant in the low EA parent group. These results provided evidence for a “buffering” effect of high parent EA on the relation between parent ACEs, parent mental distress, and children's social–emotional problems.

Aggressive behaviour in school-aged children presents a significant challenge for society. If not managed, it can result in adverse academic, social, emotional, and behavioural outcomes for the child. In addition, it can create stress for families and become a significant burden for the community as these children reach adolescence and adulthood, and engage in antisocial behaviours. Using a three-step exploratory analytical strategy, this study explored parent and child reports of a diverse range of underlying developmental and clinical variables that have been identified in the literature as predictors of aggressive child behaviour, and which could be addressed within an Australian school or community context. A total of 57 children and their parents were recruited from a referral-based Western Australian child mental health service, and the wider community. A group of 31 clinically aggressive children were identified and compared to a group of 26 non-aggressive children. The aggressive group was reported as having a greater prevalence of internalising symptoms, including anxiety and depression, and their aggressive behaviour was more likely to be of the callous/unemotional type, relative to their non-aggressive counterparts. Significant predictors of belonging to the aggressive group included child social problems, thought problems, attention problems, affective problems, narcissism, symptoms of ADHD and PTS, and low maternal self-esteem. Findings are presented and discussed in the context of established theories. Recommendations for principles of treatment for aggressive children and their families are suggested.

This study explored which parent–child relationship factors are most important in predicting children's and parents’ anxiety. The participants were 52 fathers, 52 mothers, 30 sons and 30 daughters. Parents completed a measure of anxiety and a measure of the parent–child relationship. Children completed two measures of anxiety. Mothers’ communication was found to be the only significant predictor of sons’ anxiety. Daughters’ anxiety was significantly predicted by fathers’ communication and mothers’ satisfaction with parenting. These findings signal the important role the opposite-sex parent has in children's anxiety. Moreover, feeling supported as a parent and having the ability to communicate effectively with their children are important predictors of parents’ wellbeing.

This case study explores Parent and Child Therapy (PACT), an attachment-based intervention for mothers and children experiencing intractable relationship distress originally developed by Heather Chambers (a Child Psychotherapist and Family Therapist working in New Zealand). We describe the use of PACT with a mother–child dyad presenting a history of severe abuse and neglect. The child had been diagnosed with Conduct Disorder and co-morbid Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. We consider the themes arising in the therapy, the emotional process experienced by the mother and child, the initial outcome and 10-month follow up. The case study indicates that PACT can be learned and used by practitioners outside of the team that conceptualised and developed it. The case highlights the links between externalising difficulties and attachment disorganisation and points to PACT as a promising treatment for the chronic sequelae of early interpersonal childhood trauma. The need for research and possible directions of this research are discussed.