A key finding of the current study was that higher paternal challenging behaviour was associated with lower report of child anxiety symptoms. This is consistent with the theoretical model proposed by Bögels and Phares (2008), as well as Majdandžić and colleagues' recent empirical study (Majdandžić et al., 2014). However, the logistic regression analysis demonstrated that fathers' challenging parenting behaviour did not predict child anxiety at the diagnostic level (Table 5).