A US senator has been drawing attention to the strong correlation between substance abuse among parents and the entry of their children into state care – while at the same decrying what he has identified as a woeful lack of treatment services.

Can an otherwise effective intervention have potentially harmful side effects? Findings from the University of Miami expose the danger that behavioral therapy designed for one member of a family might jeopardize the equilibrium of the rest.

Compelling evidence about the power of the interaction between variations in our genetic make-up and environmental factors such as parenting quality is emerging from an Oregon University study of ‘sensation seeking’ toddlers.