In line with these aims it was hypothesised that: (1) fathers will report more challenging parenting behaviour than mothers (2) parents who report higher levels of their own anxiety will report lower levels of challenging parenting behaviour; (3) parents will report higher levels of challenging parenting behaviour towards their male children compared to their female children; (4) children whose fathers report more challenging parenting behaviour will exhibit lower levels of anxiety (at both symptom and disorder levels) compared to those whose fathers report less challenging parenting behaviour; (5) also of interest was to examine the relationship between mothers' challenging parenting behaviour and child anxiety (at both symptom and disorder levels).