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: Objectives: Parenting is central to children's optimal development and accounts for a substantial proportion of the variance in child outcomes, including up to 40% of child mental health. Parenting is also one of the most modifiable, proximal, and direct factors for preventing and treating a range of children's problems and enhancing wellbeing. To determine the effectiveness of new approaches to parenting intervention, and to evaluate how to optimise reach and uptake, sufficient funding must be allocated for high quality research. Method: We reviewed funding awarded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Australian Research Council (ARC) for parenting intervention research during 2011–2020. Results: Parenting intervention research received 0.25% of the NHMRC and ARC research budgets. Conclusions: There is a substantial mismatch between the funding of parenting intervention research and the impact of improved parenting on short‐ and long‐term child outcomes. To rectify this, it is critical that Australian Government funding schemes include parenting interventions as priority areas for funding. Implications for public health: Changes in allocation of funding to parenting research will support the establishment of evidence for the effective development, implementation and dissemination of parenting interventions to maximise health outcomes for children and their families., Parenting interventions play a central role in promoting and protecting the health, wellbeing and educational outcomes of children, adolescents and families, as well as preventing and treating difficulties when they [...]

The last two decades have witnessed a surge in research investigating the application of oxytocin as a method of enhancing social behaviour in humans. Preliminary evidence suggests oxytocin may have potential as an intervention for autism. We evaluated a 5-day "live-in" intervention using a double-blind randomized control trial. 38 male youths (7-16 years old) with autism spectrum disorders were administered 24 or 12 international units (depending on weight) intranasal placebo or oxytocin once daily over four consecutive days. The oxytocin or placebo was administered during parent-child interaction training sessions. Parent and child behaviours were assessed using parent reports, clinician ratings, and independent observations, at multiple time points to measure side-effects; social interaction skills; repetitive behaviours; emotion recognition and diagnostic status. Compared to placebo, intranasal oxytocin did not significantly improve emotion recognition, social interaction skills, or general behavioral adjustment in male youths with autism spectrum disorders. The results show that the benefits of nasal oxytocin for young individuals with autism spectrum disorders may be more circumscribed than suggested by previous studies, and suggest caution in recommending it as an intervention that is broadly effective.

The aim of this study was to examine associations between ostracism, internalising problems, and threat to primary needs (belonging, control, self-esteem, meaningful existence) in children (N= 165, M age = 9 years). Ostracism was simulated experimentally using the Cyberball paradigm--a computer-based ball-throwing game--and threats to primary needs were indexed using a modified version of the primary needs questionnaire (PNQ-C; Hawes et al., 2012). Overall, children with greater internalising problems reported greater need-threat following Cyberball. Importantly however, in the domain of "belonging", the relationship between internalising problems and need-threat was moderated by inclusionary status. Specifically, children with high levels of internalising problems exhibited greater need-threat than children low in internalising problems when included by peers; yet following ostracism, children with high internalising problems were no longer distinguishable from those with low internalising problems in terms of threat to belonging.

This article introduces a novel hypothesis regarding amygdala function in psychopathy. The first part of this article introduces the concept of psychopathy and describes the main cognitive and affective impairments demonstrated by this population; that is, a deficit in fear-recognition, lower conditioned fear responses and poor performance in passive avoidance, and response-reversal learning tasks. Evidence for amygdala dysfunction in psychopathy is considered with regard to these deficits; however, the idea of unified amygdala function is untenable. A model of differential amygdala activation in which the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is underactive while the activity of the central amygdala (CeA) is of average to above average levels is proposed to provide a more accurate and up-to-date account for the specific cognitive and emotional deficits found in psychopathy. In addition, the model provides a mechanism by which attentional-based models and emotion-based models of psychopathy can coexist. Data to support the differential amygdala activation model are provided from studies from both human and animal research. Supporting evidence concerning some of the neurochemicals implicated in psychopathy is then reviewed. Implications of the model and areas of future research are discussed. (Contains 1 figure.)

Background: Antisocial children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits appear to be disconnected from other people's emotions; although little is known about their experience of the parent-child emotional bond. This study examined parent-child attachment relationships and levels of CU traits in conduct-problem children. Method: Attachment classifications in boys (M = 6.31 years) with disruptive behaviour disorders were assessed using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task. Multiple informants rated children's CU traits. Results: Independent of severity of conduct problems, high levels of CU traits were associated with more insecure attachment; specifically, disorganised attachment representations; however, CU traits were not associated with avoidant representations. Conclusions: Among conduct-problem children, those higher on CU traits appear to be at increased risk of experiencing disruptions in parent-child attachment relationships; attachment may be an important area for treatment and prevention efforts for CU traits in young children.

This study examined relationships between parent-child emotional communication and callous-unemotional (CU) traits and conduct problems. References to negative and positive emotions made by clinic-referred boys (3-9 years) and their parents were coded from direct observations of family interactions involving the discussion of shared emotional experiences. Although frequencies of parents' emotion expression did not generally relate to levels of CU traits, boys higher on CU traits were observed to be more expressive of negative emotions in conversation with their caregivers--specifically for sadness and fear. Independent coders did not judge these children to be less genuine in their emotion expression compared to their low-CU counterparts. We also examined whether CU traits moderated the relationship between parents' focus on emotions and conduct problem severity. Higher levels of maternal focus on negative emotions were found to be associated with lower conduct problems in high-CU boys but related to higher conduct problems in low-CU boys. Frequencies of fathers' emotional communication were unrelated to either child CU traits or conduct problems. We discuss the implications of these findings for the conceptualization of CU traits in preadolescent children, and interventions for conduct problems in children elevated on these traits. (Contains 6 tables and 2 figures.)

Background: Research suggests that parenting has little influence on the development of antisocial behavior in children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits. We aimed to extend and improve on prior studies examining the moderating role of CU traits on associations between parenting and conduct problems, by using independent observations of two key dimensions of parenting: coercion and warmth. Methods: The participants included clinic-referred conduct-disordered boys (4-12 years; N = 95) and their families. Coercive parenting was coded from observations of family interaction and parental warmth was coded from Five-Minute Speech Samples. CU traits and conduct problems were rated by multiple informants. Results: In both mothers and fathers, CU traits moderated links between observed parenting and conduct problems. Specifically, coercive parenting was more strongly positively associated with conduct problems in boys with lower levels of CU traits, whereas parental warmth was more strongly negatively associated with conduct problems in boys with higher levels of CU traits. Conclusions: These findings suggest that different dimensions of parenting may need to be targeted in the treatment of early onset conduct problems in children high and low on CU traits.

Background: A pervasive failure to attend and respond to emotionally salient stimuli is a core feature of psychopathy. We hypothesise that this begins early in life and is expressed most importantly as a failure to attend to core emotional features (viz., the eyes) of attachment figures. The current study tested whether impaired eye contact is a characteristic of children with antisocial behaviour and callous-unemotional (CU) traits in real life settings. Methods: Conduct problem males were assessed on levels of CU traits and observed in free play and "emotion talk" scenarios with their parents. Eye contact was measured for each dyad (child to mother, child to father, mother to child, father to child) as a proportion of intervals in which the child and parent interacted. Results: Levels of eye contact were reciprocated in mother-son and father-son dyads, but males with high CU traits showed consistent impairments in eye contact towards their parents. Mothers of high CU boys did not show impairments; however, fathers of high CU boys showed similar impairment. Levels of eye contact were also associated with independent measures of fear recognition, and general empathy in the boys. Conclusions: The findings provide the first evidence that impairments in eye contact, previously shown during computer tasks, characterise psychopathic traits in young males.

This study examined the relationship between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and parenting practices over time in a mixed-sex community cohort (N = 1,008; 52.6% boys), aged 3 to 10 years (M = 6.5, SD = 1.3). Measures of CU traits, externalizing psychopathology, parenting practices, and socioeconomic risk factors were collected at baseline, and parenting practices and CU traits were reassessed at 12-month follow-up. CU traits uniquely accounted for change in three domains of parenting (inconsistent discipline, punishment, and parental involvement). Likewise, multiple domains of parenting (positive parenting, parental involvement, and poor monitoring/supervision) uniquely predicted change in CU traits. These seemingly bidirectional dynamics between CU traits and parenting were found to be largely moderated by child age and sex. Results partially replicate previous findings regarding the association between quality of parenting and prospective change in CU traits, and provide initial evidence that CU traits disrupt parenting practices over time. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables, and 1 footnote.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess whether primary health care settings can be used to engage and provide a preventive intervention to mothers of young children. Methods: Two hundred and twenty-four mothers who had come to the health centers were randomly assigned to either control group (CG: n=116) or intervention group (IG: n = 108). Mothers in IG were taught about the role of parenting skills in families and common mistakes in parenting in 2-h-weekly sessions for 2 successive weeks. A parenting questionnaire was distributed to mothers at pre-test and after 8 weeks from the last training session. Results: Compared to the CG, there were significant improvements from pre- to post-test in IG on measures of Parenting Scales (PS) total scores and Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale-modified (CTSPCm) total scores. This improvement was maintained at 8-week follow up. Conclusion: The results support previous international studies that primary health care settings can be used successfully to engage and provide preventive interventions to mothers of young children. Practice implications: Within health centers of Iran where parents routinely bring their children for monitoring of growth or vaccinating against some disease, mothers with a child aged between 2 and 6 years received a parent training. The program gave skills for managing misbehavior and preventing child behavior problems. Mothers reported that their behaviors improved from pre-treatment to post-treatment measured at 8-week follow up. The current work may lead decision-makers to organize this program for all of the health centers to train Iranian mothers. (Contains 6 tables and 2 figures.)

This study reports on the results of a long-term follow-up of 60 (29 girls and 31 boys, all of Caucasian ethnicity) children and adolescents diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and treated 3 years earlier with child-focused cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) or child-focused CBT plus parental anxiety management (PAM). Sixty-seven children aged 7 to 14 years were assigned to either the "child anxiety only" or the "child + parental anxiety" condition based on parents' trait anxiety scores. Within conditions, participants were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment conditions. Results indicated that at follow-up, parental anxiety did not represent a risk factor for children's treatment outcome. In addition at follow-up, children who received the combined CBT + PAM intervention (regardless of parental anxiety status) were significantly more likely to be anxiety diagnosis free compared with children who received the child-focused CBT intervention only. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

To assess the effectiveness of providing training in elaborative, emotion rich reminiscing (emotional reminiscing, ER) as an adjunct to Parent Management Training (PMT) for parents of children (N = 38, M age = 56.9, SD = 15.8 months) with oppositional behaviors. "Control" parents received PMT and non-language adjunct intervention, child-directed play. All components of the intervention were manualized. Parents in both conditions received training in an abbreviated course of PMT. Parents in the ER condition additionally received brief training in discussing everyday past events with their child incorporating emotion labels and causes, "wh" questions, and detailed descriptive information. Parents in the "control" condition received training in allowing their child to lead during play sessions. Across both conditions, children's oppositional behaviors decreased between the beginning and end of training. Providing parents with training parents in an elaborative, emotion-rich reminiscing style resulted in greater parent and child use of elaborations and emotion references during shared conversations. Given findings in the literature of an association between parental emotion talk and children's emotional competence, developmental skills that are frequently compromised in oppositional children, the current pilot study has implications for interventions that broaden the focus of PMT.

Improving the parent-child relationship by using strategies based on social learning theory has become the cornerstone for the treatment of conduct problems in children. Over the past 40 years, interventions have expanded greatly from small, experimental procedures to substantial, systematic programmes that provide clear guidelines in detailed manuals on how practitioners should implement the standardised treatments. They are now widely disseminated and there is a great deal of empirical support that they are very effective for the majority of cases. However, evaluations of even the best of these evidence-based programmes show that a quarter to a third of families and their children do not benefit. What does the practitioner then do, when a standard social learning approach, diligently applied, doesn't work? We argue that under these circumstances, some of the major theories of child development, family functioning and individual psychology can help the skilled practitioner think his or her way through complex clinical situations. This paper describes a set of practical strategies that can then be flexibly applied, based on a systematic theoretical analysis. We hold that social learning theory remains the core of effective parent training interventions, but that ideas from attachment theory, structural family systems theory, cognitive-attribution theory, and shared empowerment/motivational interviewing can each, according to the nature of the difficulty, greatly enrich the practitioner's ability to help bring about change in families who are stuck. We summarise each of these models and present practical examples of when and how they may help the clinician plan treatment.