54 Original article • Articoli originali Journal of Psychopathology 2013;19:54-59 Summary Objective The links between parenting and mental health are a major topic of research in psychiatry. Research on the correlates of dysfunc- tional or inadequate parenting relies on the availability of valid and reliable measures of parental style. Our main aim was to de- velop and validate the Italian version of the Measure Of Parental Style (MOPS). A secondary aim was to test the reliability of an Italian version of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) that was specifically designed for this study. Methods An Italian version of the MOPS and PBI was produced using multiple independent bilingual translators. The questionnaires were administered to a non-clinical sample of adults (N = 154). A sub-sample (N = 73) completed the instruments again one month later. Results As expected, MOPS maternal and paternal Indifference were moderately to highly negatively correlated with PBI maternal and paternal Care, respectively. Also, MOPS Overcontrol was mod- erately to highly correlated with PBI maternal and paternal Over- protection, respectively. Moreover, MOPS maternal and paternal Abuse displayed a moderate negative correlation with PBI mater- nal and paternal Care, and a small though significant correlation with PBI maternal and paternal Overprotection. Furthermore, the MOPS and the PBI subscales were found to be reliable in terms of internal consistency and absolute as well as relative stability. Conclusions Given their satisfactory psychometric properties, the MOPS and PBI hold promise for clinicians and researchers interested in the links between quality of parenting and mental health. Key words Attachment • Parenting • Validity • Reliability Validity and reliability of the Italian version of the Measure Of Parental Style (MOPS) Validità e affidabilità della versione italiana della Measure Of Parental Style (MOPS) A. Picardi 1 , L. Tarsitani 2 , A. Toni 3 , A. Maraone 2 , V. Roselli 2 , E. Fabi 2 , F. De Michele 2 , I. Gaviano 2 , M. Biondi 2 1  Italian National Institute of Health, Center of Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Mental Health Unit; 2  Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome; 3  Department of Social Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome Correspondence Angelo Picardi, Italian National Institute of Health, Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Mental Health Unit, viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy • Tel. +39 06 49904200 • Fax +39 06 49904182 • E-mail: angelo.picardi@iss.it Introduction Parenting and its relationships with mental health, per- sonality, and emotion regulation is a major topic of re- search in several disciplines, including psychiatry and clinical and developmental psychology. For instance, sev- eral cross-sectional studies have suggested that relation- ships during childhood are associated with mental health outcomes in later life including depression, anxiety and self-harm  1-3 . Longitudinal studies also provided evidence that rejecting attitudes, emotional unavailability, parent– child discord and affectionless control increase the risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality  4 . Additionally, at- tachment research has focused on the effects of parent- ing on children’s development over time, as attachment is postulated to be a function of the nature and quality of the interactions between parents and children. Research has been particularly concerned with the implications for attachment security of the emotional availability and accessibility of parents to their children  5 6 , and with the links between children’s social competence and the qual- ity of parent-child relationships  7 . Furthermore, research on alexithymia has highlighted an association between alexithymia and dysfunctional parenting. Some studies suggested that alexithymia is negatively associated with the degree to which positive feelings are expressed in the family of origin  8 9 , while other studies reported an asso- ciation between mothers’ perceived low care and alexi- thymia in adulthood  10 . Research on the correlates of dysfunctional or inadequate parenting relies on the availability of valid and reliable measures of parental style. While direct observation of parent-child interaction provides the best measure of par- enting, if the research aim is to investigate the relation- ship between parental style and individual differences or health outcomes in adulthood, this measure can be used