Examination of the relationship between temperament of 12-36 months old children and fathers' caregiving helplessness with father-child attachment

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the attachment security of 12-36 months old children, their temperament, and paternal caregiving helplessness. To achieve this goal, 79 children aged 12-36 months, who were both physiologically and psychologically healthy, were included in the research along with their fathers. The measurement tools used in the study were the Demographic Information Form, the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ), the Caregiving Helplessness Questionnaire (CHQ), and the Attachment Q-Sort (AQS). Fathers answered the Demographic Information Form, Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire, and Childcare Helplessness Scale. The data for the Attachment Q-Sort were obtained through the scoring of observation videos involving fathers and children by the researchers. Pearson correlation analysis was employed to determine the relationships between the variables, and simple regression analysis was conducted to identify the predictability of the variables. The results indicated a significant negative correlation of moderate level between the soothability subscale of Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire and Caregiving Helplessness Questionnaire (CHQ) (father helpless and father-child frightened factor). However, there was no significant relationship found between the child caregiving factor. Furthermore, there was no significant relationship found between the impulsivity subscale of the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire and the factors of Caregiving Helplessness Questionnaire (father helpless and father-child frightened and caregiving child). Additionally, it was found that both children's temperament and paternal caregiving helplessness were not significantly related to father-child Attachment Q-Sort. The combination of children's temperament and fathers' caregiving helplessness could not significantly predict the quality of father-child attachment security, but together, they could explain 6.3% of the variance in father-child attachment security. Keywords: Attachment, temperament, caregiving helplessness.