The Parent-Child Interaction Assessment-II (PCIA-II; Holigrocki, Kaminski, & Frieswyk, 1999, 2002) is a direct observation procedure that involves the videotaping of parents and children. Parents and 4- to 10-year-old children are videotaped as they play together at an imaginary zoo. They are presented with a series of story stems and are asked to "Play out what happens together." Once the story creation part has finished, they complete the PCIA-II Inquiry video-recall procedure where they are shown selections from their videotape. The videotape is paused; and they are individually interviewed regarding what is happening and what each and the other are doing, thinking, feeling, and wanting. The PCIA-II takes approximately 45 minutes to administer (30 minutes for the videotaped interaction and 15 minutes for the Inquiry) This measure is employed in research and clinical interventions with parent-child dyads. As a research tool, the PCIA-II is used to test hypotheses relevant to clinical psychology, psychiatry, and child development. Drs. Richard Holigrocki, Patricia Kaminski, and Siebolt Frieswyk developed the PCIA-II between 1995 and 1997 at The Menninger Clinic. Questions under investigation involve studying the influence of psychopathology of the parent or child on the other member of the dyad; the relationship between defense mechanisms, internal representations, and aggression; parenting styles; and cross cultural comparisons between samples collected in Hong Kong and the United States.

Resources and References

Link to External Web Site: PCIA-II

Bohr, Y. (in press). Infant Mental Health Programs: Experimenting with innovative models. One center's experience with new program funding. Infant Mental Health Journal.

Holigrocki, R. J. & Hudson-Crain, R.(2004). Victim-victimizer relational dynamics as maintained by representational, defensive, and neurobiological functioning. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 68(3), 197-212.

Holigrocki, R. J., & Kaminski, P. L. (2002). A structural and microanalytic exploration of parent-child relational psychopathology. Constructivism in the Human Sciences, 7, 111-123.

Holigrocki, R. J., Kaminski, P. L. & Frieswyk S. H. (2002). PCIA-II: Parent-Child Interaction Assessment Version II. Unpublished manuscript, University of Indianapolis. (Update of PCIA Tech. Rep. No. 99-1046. Topeka, KS: Child and Family Center, The Menninger Clinic).

Holigrocki, R. J, Kaminski, P. L., & Frieswyk, S. H. (1999). Introduction to the Parent-Child Interaction Assessment. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 63(3), 413-428.