To determine whether mothers with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia interacted differently with their children than normal control mothers, 86 mothers and their adolescents (aged between 13 and 23 years) were observed during a structured play situation. Maternal as well as adolescent anxiety status was assessed according to a structured diagnostic interview. Results showed that mothers with panic disorder/agoraphobia showed more verbal control, were more criticizing and less sensitive during mother-child interaction than mothers without current mental disorders. Moreover, more conflicts were observed between mother and child dyadic interactions when the mother suffered from panic disorder. The comparison of parenting behaviors among anxious and nonanxious children did not reveal any significant differences. These findings support an association between parental over-control and rejection and maternal but not child anxiety and suggest that particularly mother anxiety status is an important determinant of parenting behavior. Finally, an association was found between children's perceived self-efficacy, parental control and child anxiety symptoms.Keywords: Maternal panic disorder, Mother-child interaction, Parenting, Child anxiety, Perceived self-efficacy 2 Although there has been extensive research into developing a more refined understanding of the nature and maintenance of panic disorder/agoraphobia, little attention has been given to the understanding of its origins. Since there is a high familial transmission of panic disorder (e.g. Weissman 1993), one area worthy of exploration is the potential influence of parenting factors in the development of panic disorder/agoraphobia. This aspect in the etiology of panic disorder/agoraphobia was emphasized very early on by Goldstein and Chambless (1978). More recently, Bouton et al. (2001) stated, in their learning theory on the etiology of panic disorder, that early experiences with excessive control and overprotection (e.g. parents who do not respond to their children's needs, requests, and initiatives in a consistent manner) may produce a sense of lack of control and mastery over children's environments and that this may serve as a psychological vulnerability factor for panic disorder and anxiety disorders in general. However, there is a paucity of empirical research examining this possibility. So far studies investigating this question in panic disorder used retrospective data gathered by questionnaires and mainly focused on the two principal parenting dimensions suggested by Bowlby (1977), namely "care" (i.e.caring versus indifference/rejection) and "over-protection" (i.e. control/overprotection versus autonomy granting and independence). These studies consistently showed that patients with panic disorder/agoraphobia described their parents as less caring than did normal controls (e.g. Arrindell et al. 1983;Arrindell et al. 1989;Parker 1979). However, results for 'over-protection' are inconsistent, with some studies reporting more over-protection by both p...