| Summary: | Volume I is divided into three parts. Part I reviews the literature evaluating parenting programmes for parents with mental health problems and their children up to the age of 5. The review begins by focusing on why parental mental health matters in terms of outcomes for the child and covers three of the main theoretical mechanisms of the transmission of mental health risks from parent to child. The literature reviewed ranges from small pilot studies aimed at parents with specific diagnoses (such as eating disorders) to larger randomised control trials, evaluated using a research evaluation framework. Suggestions for future research are made. Part 2, the empirical paper explores the relationship between reflective functioning, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) symptomatology and the affective quality of observed parent-child interaction in a group of mothers referred for a Mellow Parenting group. The data used in the presented research comprises the assessment (or baseline) data for an ongoing group evaluation of the Mellow Parenting intervention with mothers with possible BPD. No significant difference was found between mothers demonstrating positive or negative affective interaction in terms of level of BPD and reflective functioning. Potential reasons for the findings are discussed. Part 3 contains a critical appraisal of the research described, examining both methodological issues and considerations, and the analyses used. The researcher's views on BPD and the use of video footage to make inferences about parent-child interaction are given. Finally, implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.
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