Skittish, shielded, and scared: relations among behavioral inhibition, overprotective parenting, and anxiety in native and non-native Dutch preschool children.

•Examined cross-sectional and prospective relations between behavioral inhibition and overprotective parenting and childhood anxiety symptoms in preschool children.•Behavioral inhibition emerged as a clear predictor of anxiety disorder symptoms, especially social anxiety.•Stable high inhibited children ran the greatest risk for developing an anxiety disorder.•The contribution of overprotective parenting to children's anxiety symptoms was less consistent.•Differences between native and non-native Dutch children were found with regard to temperament, parenting, and anxious symptoms.