The study of parent-child relations is an active area of inquiry given that it plays a role in both child and adult (parent) development and has implications for the broader family system and society as a whole (Bornstein, 2005; Collins, Maccoby, Steinberg, Hetherington & Bornstein, 2000). Research on parent-child relations has important implications that range from basic (e.g., effects on child development) to applied (e.g., optimal techniques in family intervention). Yet the benefits of this research are constrained by the quality of employed methods and the conclusions that can or cannot be drawn as a result. Some methodological constraints have plagued this field from the outset, while others have emerged more recently, stemming from the difficulty inherent in developing methods that capture the complexity of contemporary conceptualizations of parenting and parent-child relations. As argued by Bornstein (2005; pp. 311-312), ‘the family generally, and parenting specifically, are today in a greater state of flux, question, and re-definition than perhaps ever before.’ Accordingly, it has become increasingly important to develop, refine, and apply methods that effectively capture the complexity of parenting and parent-child relations.