The present study examined the influence of specific parenting behaviors (parental support/scaffolding) and child temperament (Negative Affectivity and Effortful Control) on dependency in 4 year-olds. The relationship between attachment security and dependency was also examined. Participants were 796 4 year-old children and their primary caregivers, who were part of a larger, longitudinal study.

Parental support/scaffolding was assessed using the Three Boxes Task (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 1999), a structured parent-child interaction task. Negative Affectivity and Effortful Control were assessed using their respective scales from the Child Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ). The Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) was completed by observers as a measure of dependency and attachment security.

Results indicated a small, but significant direct relationship between Negative Affectivity and dependency such that children who were higher in Negative Affectivity demonstrated higher levels of dependency. There was a trend for parental support/scaffolding to moderate the relationship between Negative Affectivity and dependency. Specifically, at high levels of parental support/scaffolding, Negative Affectivity is not related to dependency. At low levels of parental support/scaffolding, however, higher levels of Negative Affectivity are related to higher levels of dependency. Effortful Control and attachment security were unrelated to dependency. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.