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The present study examined which aspects of the child's behavior and clinical profile accounted for three dimensions of parenting stress: related to parenting roles, to interactions with the child, and to the child. Measures of adaptive behavior, intellectual functioning, autism symptom severity, and challenging behavior and emotional difficulties were examined as predictors of parenting stress in 157 mothers of children recently diagnosed with autism. Children's emotional problems and aggressive behavior were most predictive of parenting distress, whereas autism symptoms along with emotional problems and aggressive behavior, respectively, were linked to stress pertaining to interactions and to the child. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive and complementary interventions that focus on children's behavior and symptoms but also on parent adjustment.

The home environment is an important contributor to children's literacy experiences. One activity that is frequently investigated is parent-child storybook reading. The present study examined book-reading interactions between 60 parent-child dyads. The sessions were recorded and parent-child behaviors were coded for types of talk (immediate, non-immediate, illustration production) and engagement. Research Findings: Results of hierarchical multiple regressions demonstrated that parents' non-immediate talk and engagement accounted for unique variance in children's non-immediate talk and engagement, above and beyond children's own behaviors. Parallel regressions demonstrated that children's non-immediate talk and engagement also accounted for unique variance in parents' non-immediate talk and engagement, above and beyond parents' own behaviors. Practice or Policy: These findings demonstrate that parents and children take on reciprocal roles during storybook reading. Implications for parents' practices are discussed.