A contextual family/systems approach to pediatric psychology: introduction to the special issue.

Introduced the special issue on "Family Systems in Pediatric Psychology" by organizing the papers around a series of themes relevant to understanding families in pediatric psychology. Themes reflect the relationships between parent and child adjustment, family subsystems, legacies and traditions, social support systems, family interventions, the constancy of change in families, the challenges of conducting longitudinal research, the inclusion of fathers, and the importance of a competency framework in pediatric family psychology. The paper concludes with recommendations for pediatric family psychology, including suggestions for increasing diversity, expanding methodological approaches, and enhancing family competence.