In recent years studies concerning the initial stages of child development and children's relationship with parents and caregivers - based on attachment theory and infant research - have produced a vast array of data and contributed to a rich exchange between evolutionary research and clinical psychology. The book offers readers a wide-ranging overview of this exchange, as well as a description of selected key concepts (including childhood communication systems, maternal responsiveness, emotional regulation), the role of early interactions in socio-emotional development, and potential risk trajectories. Through the presentation of a set of tools aimed at assessing dysfunctions in the parent-child relationship, the author also provides prevention models for supporting parenthood.

Cristina Riva Crugnola is a psychoanalyst and teaches Developmental Psychology at the Bicocca University in Milan.