The purpose of this research was to construct a dependency scale and analyze the home environmental factors which influence children's dependency.
A questionnaire was divided into two parts.One consisted of 30 items constituting a dependency scale. These items were collected according to our definition of dependency as “seekingtphysical contact and proximity,” “seeking attention,” “seeking help,” “seeking approval or recognition,” and “seeking safety.” Each item had a trichotomous ch oiceform. The other part inquired into the socio-economic cul-tural background, the fundamental habits of the children and the patterns of rearing.
The questionnaire was filled out by 360 mothers whose children attended three nursery schools in Tokyo. Ages of the children ranged from 4 years 8 months to 6 years 4 months.
As a result of an item analysis, twenty-two items were selected to construct the “dependency scale.” The raw score was transformed into standard score in each age level. A child who had low score on this scale was judged to be independent from the content of the questionnaire items. The reliability coefficient obtained by the split-half method was 0.75.
The results of the comparison between the score and the various factors in question are as follows:
1. Socio-economic cultural background seems to have no relationship to dependency in children. Items in the material environment-e. g., a piano, a violin, a slide, a swing and magazines-do not relate to the formation of independence of children.
2. Free movement area for children seems to be necessary for the development of independence.
3. Appropriate development of personality is strengthened by contact with siblings. This would suggest the desirability of socio-personal relations among children of similar ages.
4. Fundamental habits of children highly correlate with dependency scores. Patterns of rearing are judged to have a strong influence on the adequate formation of these habits.
It is tchildren's nature t: to be dependent. Theyacquire independence through the learning process. An important thing to be investigated in futurestudy is when and how a child best develops his, independence at a given agelevel.
