Editorial: Parenting in Mind: Neurodevelopment and the Influence of Children's Most Profound Relationship

Parenting style, defined as the context of parenting practice,¹ is foundational to research on mother-child relationships because it is observable, amenable to intervention, and influences risk of mental illness in offspring. For example, a recent systematic review demonstrates an association between negative parenting styles and the development of internalizing disorders in children.² Therapies incorporating parenting style are standard treatment for youth with externalizing disorders. Given that the mother-child relationship is ever-present starting before birth and influences mental health, there is keen interest to elucidate the influence of parenting style on children's neurobiological development.