Specific parenting dimensions were explored of parents with adolescents (11-17 years old) referred to outpatient clinics for behavioural and emotional problems. Eighty-seven parent-adolescent pairs participated. Parents completed a parenting interview, and the adolescents were administered a diagnostic interview, the Child Assessment Schedule. Parents of adolescents with behaviour disorders showed impairment in 8/10 parenting dimensions compared to parents of adolescents with emotional disorders or parents of adolescents with no disorder. Parents with behaviour-disordered adolescents had more problems with Appreciation, Involvement, Setting Limits, Consistency, Monitoring Contact, Parenting Priority and Negative Attributions than did other parents. Impaired parenting by the same-gender parent was more related to the adolescent's problems than the opposite-gender parent. Fathers' lack of contact with their sons strongly correlated with their sons' expression of anger.