Table 1.

Studies examining bidirectional or directional relations between parenting and temperament

Authors (Year)	Study design	Temperament and parenting relation (* indicates significant association)	r	β or partial r
Infant/toddler studies
Arcus (2001)	N = 94	Infant crying (O)–maternal attention to distress (O)*	.33
	4–14 Months	Inhibition (O) ← maternal attention to distress (O)*	n.a.
	Longitudinal	Inhibition (O) ← maternal limit setting (O)*	n.a.
Bates et al. (1982)	N = 168	Difficult (M,O)–maternal social contact (O)*	.19
	6 Months	Difficult (M,O)–maternal teaching (O)	–.01
	Cross-sectional	Difficult (M,O)–maternal satisfaction (O)	–.12
		Difficult (M,O)–maternal non-restrictiveness (O)	.01
Belsky et al. (1991)	N = 148	Negative emotionality (M,O) ← paternal involvement (O)*	n.a.
	3–9 Months	Negative emotionality (M,O) ← maternal sensitivity (O)*
	Longitudinal	Negative emotionality (M,O) ← mat. unresponsiveness (O)*
Booth-LaForce and Oxford (2008)	N = 1092	Dysregulated temperament (M) → secure attachment (O)*		–.08
	6–54 Months	Dysregulated temperament (M) → insensitive parenting (O)		n.s.
	Longitudinal
Braungart-Rieker et al. (1997)	N = 57	Negative reactivity (M)–maternal guidance (O)*	–.28
	30 Months	Negative reactivity (M)–maternal control (O)*	.36
	Cross-sectional
Braungart-Rieker et al. (2001)	N = 94	Self-regulation (O)–maternal sensitivity (O)*	.30
	4–13 Months
	Longitudinal
Bridgett et al. (2009)	N = 156	Negative emotionality–intercept (M) → negative parenting (M)		n.s.
	4–18 Months	Negative emotionality–slope (M) → negative parenting (M)*		.22
	Longitudinal	Regulatory capacity–intercept (M) → negative parenting (M)*		–.23
		Regulatory capacity–slope (M) → negative parenting (M)*		–.61
Calkins (2002)	N = 73	Frustration distress (O) → maternal negative control (O)	–.10	–.25
	18–24 Months	Frustration distress (O) → positive guidance (O)	–.05	n.a.
	Longitudinal
Calkins et al. (2004)	N = 162	Frustration distress (M,O) → Maternal sensitivity (O)		–.24
	6 Months	Frustration distress (M,O) → maternal intrusiveness (O)*		.31
	Cross-sectional	Frustration distress (M,O) → physical stimulation (O)*		–.46
Calkins and Johnson (1998a, b)	N = 73	Frustration distress (O) → negative control (O)	–-.27	n.s.
	18 Months	Frustration distress (O) → positive guidance (O)	n.s.	n.s.
	Cross-sectional	Frustration distress (O) → pre-emptive Interference (O)*	.43	.43
Calkins et al. (1998)	N = 65	Frustration distress (O)–positive guidance (O)	n.a.
	24 Months	Frustration distress (O)–negative control (O)
	Cross-sectional	Impulsivity (O)–positive guidance (O)
		Impulsivity (O)–negative control (O)
Chen et al. (1998)	N = 118 Chinese	Inhibition (O)–maternal acceptance (M)*	.17/–.22
	N = 82 Canadian	Inhibition (O)–maternal rejection (M)	–.18/.10
	24.5 Months	Inhibition (O)–encouragement of achievement (M)*	.18/–.21
	Cross-sectional	Inhibition (O)–punishment (M)*	.15/.21
	Chinese/Canadian	Inhibition (O)–encouragement of independence (M)*	.18/.12
		Inhibition (O)–protection (M)*	.03/.22
Clark et al. (2000)	N = 108	Negative emotionality (O) → power assertion (O)*	.23	.22
	8–15 Months	Negative emotionality (O) → responsiveness (O)	–.08	–.01
	Longitudinal
Crockenberg and Smith (1982)	N = 56	Irritability (O) ← maternal attitudes about responsiveness (O)*		–.28
	0–3 Months	Irritability (O) → maternal responsiveness to crying (O)*		.33
	Longitudinal
Eiden et al. (2004)	N = 226	Effortful control (O) ← Maternal warmth (O)*	.40/.29	.29/.07
	12–36 Months	Effortful control (O) ← Paternal warmth (O)*	.19/.25	.08/.21
	Longitudinal boys/girls
Feldman et al. (1997)	N = 48	Fussy-difficult (M) → Maternal sensitivity (O)*	–.42	–.28
	3–9 Months	Fussy-difficult (M) → Intrusiveness (O)	–.02	–.15
	Longitudinal
Feldman et al. (1999)	N = 36	Self-control (O)–mother warm control (O)*	.35	.22
	3–9 Months	Self-control (O) ← mother–infant affect synchrony (O)*	.56	.51
	Longitudinal
Houck and Lecuyer-Maus (2004)	N = 78	Delay ← maternal indirect limit setting (O)*	n.a.
	12–60 Months	Delay ← maternal teaching limit setting (O)*
	Longitudinal	Delay ← maternal power-based limit setting (O)*
Kiel and Buss (2006)	N = 72	Fearfulness (O) ← mother approach personality (M)*		.15
	24 Months	Fearfulness (O) ← mother inhibited personality (M)		n.s.
	Cross-sectional
Kochanska et al. (2008)	N = 102	Self-regulation (O) ← Mother mutually responsive orientation (O)*	.51	.16
	7–52 Months	Self-regulation (O) ← Father mutually responsive orientation (O)*	.28	.10
	Longitudinal	Self-regulation (O) ← mother power assertion (O)*	–.45	–.20
		Self-regulation (O) ← father power assertion (O)*	–.52	–.29
Kochanska et al. (2004)	Study 1:	Anger (O) → maternal shared positive ambience (O)*		–.32
	N = 102	Anger (O) → maternal responsiveness (O)		–.08
	7 Months	Anger (O) → maternal consistent tracking (O)		–.15
	Cross-sectional	Fear (O) → maternal shared positive ambience (O)*		.32
	Study 2:	Fear (O) → maternal responsiveness (O)		.14
	N = 112	Fear (O) → maternal consistent tracking (O)		.12
	9–45 Months	Attention (O) → maternal shared positive ambiance (O)		–.08
	Longitudinal	Attention (O) → maternal responsiveness (O)		.02
		Attention (O) → maternal consistent tracking (O)		.16
Kochanska and Knaack (2003)	N = 106	Effortful control (M,O) ← maternal power assertion (O)*	–.54	–.37
	14–45 Months
	Longitudinal
Kochanska et al. (2000)	N = 106	Effortful control (M, O) ← maternal responsiveness (O)*	.29	.22
	9–33 Months
	Longitudinal
Lee and Bates (1985)	N = 111	Difficult (M)–maternal prohibition (O)	.14
	6–24 Months	Difficult (M)–maternal scolding (O)	.03
	Longitudinal	Difficult (M)–maternal physical punishment (O)	.01
		Difficult (M)–maternal remove or restrain (O)*	.23
		Difficult (M)–maternal given into demand (O)*	.16
Maccoby et al. (1984)	N = 57	Difficult (M) → maternal teaching effort (O)*	–.52/.33	–.57/–.12
	12–18 Months	Difficult (M) ← maternal teaching effort (O)*		–.44/–.06
	Longitudinal boys/girls	Difficult (M)–physical manipulation (O)	–.07/–.22	n.s.
Malatesta and Haviland (1982)	N = 52	Negative emotionality (M,O) ← maternal contingent responding (O)	n.s.
	3–12 Months	Negative emotionality (M,O) ← maternal anxiety (O)	n.s.
	Longitudinal
Mills-Koonce et al. (2007)	N = 148	Negative affect (O) → maternal sensitivity (O)*		.17
	6–12 Months
	Longitudinal
Morrell and Murray (2003)	N = 59	Self-regulation (O) → maternal hostile parenting (O)*		.35/.42
	9 Months–8 years	Self-regulation (O) → maternal coercive parenting (O)*		.25/–.63
	Longitudinal
	Boys/girls
Nachmias et al. (1996)	N = 77	Inhibition (O)–encouragement to approach (O)*	.27
	18 Months	Inhibition (O)–demands to approach (O)	n.s.
	Longitudinal	Inhibition (O)–comfort (O)*	.44
Olson et al. (2002)	N = 89	Impulsivity (O) ← maternal object stimulation (O)*	.28
	5 Months–8 years	Impulsivity (O) ← maternal non-punitive (O)*	.26
	Longitudinal	Impulsivity (O) ← maternal verbal stimulation (O)	.22
		Impulsivity (O) ← maternal affection (O)	.04
Park et al. (1997)	N = 125	Inhibition (O) ← paternal intrusiveness (O)*		–.27
	12–36 Months	Inhibition (O) ← maternal intrusiveness (O)*		–.26
	Longitudinal	Inhibition (O) ← paternal sensitivity (O)		.09
		Inhibition (O) ← maternal sensitivity (O)		.01
		Inhibition (O) ← paternal positive affect (O)		.07
		Inhibition (O) ← maternal positive affect (O)		–.04
		Inhibition (O) ← paternal negative affect (O)*		–.20
		Inhibition (O) ← maternal negative affect (O)		–.18
		Inhibition (O) ← paternal detachment (O)		–.03
		Inhibition (O) ← maternal detachment (O)		.08
Pettit and Bates (1984)	N = 128	Difficult (M,O)–maternal affection and caregiving (O)*	–.28
	6–13 months	Difficult (M,O)–maternal teaching (O)	n.s.
	Longitudinal	Difficult (M,O)–maternal management (O)*	.49
Putnam et al. (2002)	N = 58	Inability to delay (O)–maternal distraction (O)*	–.27
	30 months	Inability to delay (O)–maternal reasoning (O)*	.30
	Cross-sectional	Inability to delay (O)–maternal bargaining (O)	.17
		Inability to delay (O)–maternal indirect commands (O)*	.31
		Inability to delay (O)–maternal direct commands (O)*	.27
Rubin et al. (1997)	N = 108	Inhibition (O) ← fear × maternal oversolicitousness (O)*		.08
	24–27 Months
	Longitudinal
Scaramella et al. (2008)	N = 47	Distress reactivity (O) ← Harsh parenting (O)*	.53	.45
	12–24 Months	Distress reactivity (O) ← supportive parenting (O)	–.15	–.00
	Longitudinal	Distress reactivity (O) → Harsh parenting (O)	.06	.01
		Distress reactivity (O) → Supportive parenting (O)*	–.41	–.33
Sheese et al. (2007)	N = 45	Impulsivity (P) ← parenting quality (O) × genetic variation of dopamine receptor D4*	n.a.	.15
	18–21 Months
	Cross-sectional
Siefer et al. (1996)	N = 49	Difficulty (O)–maternal quality (O)*	.31
	4–12 Months	Difficulty (O)–appropriateness (O)*	.32
	Longitudinal
Silverman and Ragusa (1990)	N = 41	Delay/impulsivity (O)–Maternal positive control (O)*	.25
	24 Months	Delay/impulsivity (O)–Maternal strictness (O)	–.29
	Cross-sectional	Delay/impulsivity (O)–Maternal aggravation (O)	–.28
		Delay/impulsivity (O)–Maternal encouragement of independence (O)*	.43
van den Boom (1989)	N = 30	Irritability (O) → maternal sensitivity/responsiveness (O)*	n.a.
		Irritability (O) ← maternal sensitivity/responsiveness (O)*
	1–6 Months		n.a.
	Intervention
van den Boom and Hoeksma (1994)	N = 30	Irritability (O) → maternal responsiveness (O)*	n.a.
	1–6 Months
	Longitudinal
Preschool studies
Belsky et al. (2000)	N = 125 US	Inhibition (O) → maternal encouraging withdrawal (O)*		.24*/.24
	N = 100 Korean	Inhibition (O) → paternal encouraging withdrawal (O)		.05/–
	3 Years	Inhibition (O) → maternal discouraging withdrawal (O)*		.33*/.41*
	Cross-sectional	Inhibition (O) → paternal discouraging withdrawal (O)		.20/–
	US/Korean	Inhibition (O) → maternal encouraging approach (O)*		.34*/.25
		Inhibition (O) → paternal encouraging approach (O)		.21/–
		Inhibition (O) ← maternal encouraging withdrawal (O)		–.09/.14
		Inhibition (O) ← paternal encouraging withdrawal (O)		.03/–
		Inhibition (O) ← maternal discouraging withdrawal (O)		.05/.21
		Inhibition (O) ← paternal discouraging withdrawal (O)		–.03/–
		Inhibition (O) ← maternal encouraging approach (O)		–.03/.27
		Inhibition (O) ← paternal encouraging approach (O)		–.04/–
Cole et al. (2003)	N = 85	Expression of anger emotion (O)–maternal positive response (O)*	.20/.65
	5 Years	Child positive response (O)–maternal expression of positive versus anger emotion (O)*	.47/.38
	Cross-sectional
	Boys/girls
Karreman et al. (2008b)	N = 89	Effortful control (O) → maternal positive control (O)*		.38
	36 Months	Effortful control (O) → paternal positive control (O)		.15
	Cross-sectional	Effortful control (O) → maternal negative control (O)		–.23
		Effortful control (O) → paternal negative control (O)		–.20
		Effortful control (O) → maternal warmth (O)		–.05
		Effortful control (O) → paternal warmth (O)		–.10
Kimonis et al. (2006)	N = 49	Aggression (T) ← corporal punishment (M)*	–.35
	36–42 Months	Aggression (T) ← inappropriate expectations (M)	.00
	Longitudinal	Aggression (T) ← empathic awareness (M)	–.21
		Aggression (T) ← role reversal (M)	–.16
Kyrios and Prior (1990)	N = 120	Negative reactivity (M)–punishment (M, F)*	.22	.17
	44 Months	Self-regulation (M)–use of rewards (M, F)*	–.29	–.25
	Cross-sectional
Lengua et al. (2007)	N = 80	Effortful control (O) ← limit setting (O)*	.27	.20
	36–42 Months	Effortful control (O) ← scaffolding (O)*	.23	.23
	Longitudinal	Effortful control (O) ← warmth (O)	.04	–.08
		Effortful control (O) ← negative affect (O)	–.17	.04
Lerner and Galambos (1985)	N = 89	Difficult (M) ← maternal rejection (M)*		.25
	2–4 Years longitudinal	Difficult (M) → maternal rejection (M)*		.12
Martini et al. (2004)	N = 94	Fear (M) → maternal regulation of emotion (M)*		n.a.
	4.4 Years	Anger (M) → maternal regulation emotion (M)*		n.a.
	Cross-sectional
Mauro and Harris (2000)	N = 30	Impulsivity (O) –teaching behaviors (focus on wait) (O)*	.41
	51 Months	Impulsivity (O) –teaching behaviors (verbalizations) (O)*	.33
	Cross-sectional
Porter et al. (2005)	N = 729	US
	4–6 Years	Emotionality (M, F)–father authoritarian (M)*	.18/.22
	Cross-sectional	Emotionality (M, F)–mother authoritarian (F)*	.38/.39
	Boys/girls	Emotionality (M, F)–father authoritative (M)*	–.19/–.02
		Emotionality (M, F)–mother authoritative (F)*	–.32/–.01
		Chinese
		Emotionality (M, F)–father authoritarian (M)*	.25/.42
		Emotionality (M, F)–mother authoritarian (F)*	.33/.31
		Emotionality (M, F)–father authoritative (M)	–.04/–.16
		Emotionality (M, F)–mother authoritative (F)*	–.18/.00
Rubin et al. (1999)	N = 60	Shyness (M) → mother encouragement of independence (M)*	–.37
	2–4 Years	Shyness (F) → father encouragement of independence (F)*	–.33
	Longitudinal
Sheeber and Johnson (1992)	N = 77	Difficult (M)–maternal competence (M)*	.28
	Cross-sectional
	3–4 Years
Mid-childhood/adolescent studies
Bezirganian and Cohen (1992)	Longitudinal	Difficult temperament (M) ← maternal control (C)*		.20/.10
	N = 776	Difficult temperament (M) ← maternal punishment (C)*		.60/.37
	1–20 Years	Difficult temperament (M) ← maternal discipline(C)*		.32/.17
	Boys/girls	Difficult temperament (M) ← paternal discipline (C)*		.13/.27
Brody et al. (2002)	N = 150	Self-regulation (T) ← maternal competence (M)*		.35
	11 Years
	Longitudinal
Brody et al. (2005)	N = 332	Self-regulation (M) ← involved vigilant parenting (M)*		.23
	11 Years
	Intervention
Colman et al. (2006)	N = 549	Self-regulation (M) ← maternal warmth (M)*	.12	.08
	4–9 Years	Self-regulation (M) ← punitive discipline (M)*	–.19	–.08
	Longitudinal
Coplan et al. (2009)	N = 285	Dysregulation → overprotection (M)		.06
	6.25 Years	Dysregulation (M) → coercive parenting (M)		.08
	Cross-sectional	Dysregulation (M) → authoritative parenting (M)*		–.15
		Shyness (M) → overprotection (M)*		.16
		shyness (m) → coercive parenting (m)		.08
		Shyness (M) → authoritative parenting (M)		–.06
Davidov and Grusec (2006)	N = 106	Negative affect regulation (M) ← maternal responsiveness to distress (M)*		.25
	6–8 Years	Negative affect regulation (M) ← maternal warmth (M)		.14
	Cross-sectional	Negative affect regulation (M) ← paternal responsiveness to distress (F)*		.24
		Negative affect regulation (M) ← paternal warmth (F)		.06
Eisenberg et al. (1999)	N = 79	Externalizing emotion 6–8 years (M,T) → parental reactions 8–10 years (M)*		.21
	6–12 Years	Externalizing emotion 8–10 years (M,T) → parental reactions 10–12 years (M)		–.01
	Longitudinal
		Regulation 6–8 years (M) → punitive reactions 8–10 years (M)*		–.19
		Regulation 8–10 years (M) → punitive reactions 10–12 years (M)		–.05
		Regulation 6–8 years (M) → parental distress 8–10 years (M)		–.03
		Regulation 8–10 years (M) → parental distress 10–12 years (M)		–.02
		Externalizing emotion 8–10 years (M) ← parental reactions 6–8 years (M,T)		.16
		Externalizing emotion 10–12 years (M) ← parental reactions 8–10 years (M,T)*		.53
		Regulation 8–10 years (M) ← punitive reactions 6–8 years (M)		–.05
		Regulation 10–12 years (M) ← punitive reactions 8–10 years (M)*		–.70
		Regulation 8–10 years (M) ← parental distress 6–8 years (M)		–.14
		Regulation 10–12 years (M) ← parental distress 8–10 years (M)		–.02
Hawes and Dadds (2005)	N = 56	Callous-unemotional (M) ← praise (I)		n.s.
	6 Years	Callous-unemotional (M) ← time out (I)		n.s.
	Intervention	Callous-unemotional (M) ← harsh parenting (I)		n.s.
Lengua (2006)	N = 190	Fearfulness (M, C) → rejection (M, C)*		–.19
	8–12 Years	Fearfulness (M, C) → inconsistency (M, C)		–.16
	Longitudinal	Irritability (M,C) → rejection (M, C)		.08
		Irritability (M, C) → inconsistency (M, C)*		.19
		Effortful control (M, C) → rejection (M, C)*		–.38
		Effortful control (M, C) → inconsistency (M, C)		–.12
		Fearfulness (M, C) ← rejection (M, C)*		.15
		Fearfulness (M, C) ← inconsistency (M, C)*		–.22
		Irritability (M, C) ← rejection (M, C)*		.16
		Irritability (M, C) ← inconsistency (M, C)		.03
		Effortful control (M, C) ← rejection (M, C)		.03
		Effortful control (M, C) ← inconsistency (M, C)		.00
Lengua and Kovacs (2005)	N = 92	Fearfulness (M, C) → acceptance (M, C)*		.17
	8–12 Years	Fearfulness (M, C) → involvement (M, C)		.07
	Longitudinal	Fearfulness (M, C) → inconsistent discipline (M, C)		.02
		Irritability (M, C) → acceptance (M, C)		–.08
		Irritability (M, C) → involvement (M, C)		–.15
		Irritability (M, C) → inconsistent discipline*		.18
		Self-regulation (M, C) → acceptance (M, C)		.09
		Self-regulation (M, C) → involvement (M, C)		–.08
		Self-regulation (M, C) → inconsistent discipline (M, C)		–.02
		Fearfulness (M, C) ← acceptance (M, C)		.12
		Fearfulness (M, C) ← involvement (M, C)		–.03
		Fearfulness (M, C) ← inconsistent discipline (M, C)*		.31
		Irritability (M, C) ← acceptance (M, C)		–.01
		Irritability (M, C) ← involvement (M, C)		.02
		Irritability (M, C) ← inconsistent discipline (M, C)*		.21
		Self-regulation (M, C) ← acceptance (M, C)		.00
		Self-regulation (M, C) ← involvement (M, C)		–.03
		Self-regulation (M, C) ← inconsistent discipline (M, C)		–.10
Patridge (2003)	N = 72	Inhibition (O)–empathy (M, F)*	–.36
	5–6 Years	Inhibition (O)–appropriate expectations (M, F)*	–.37
	Cross-sectional	Inhibition (O)–positive parenting (M, F)*	–.28
Zhou et al. (2004)	N = 425	Effortful control (M, F) ← authoritarian parenting (M, F)*		–.31
	7–10 Years	Anger/frustration (M, F) ← authoritarian parenting (M, F)*		.14
	Cross-sectional	Effortful control (M, F) ← authoritative parenting (M, F)*		.16
		Anger/frustration (M, F) ← authoritative parenting (M, F)		.03

When two values are reported with a “/”, they are described in the study design column (e.g., boys/girls)

C child report, F father report, M mother report, N neuropsychological assessment, O observation, P physiological indicator, T teacher

^*p ≤ .05