The current study examined the interactive effects of infant activity level and fear on growthtrajectories of behavior problems in early childhood (age 4 to 8 years) using maternal ratings. Thesample was drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) and included childrenwho were between 1 and 11 months in 1986. Findings suggested that boys characterized by highactivity level and low levels of fear in infancy escalated in both externalizing and internalizingsymptoms. Also, boys characterized by high fear and low activity level increased in internalizingsymptoms and these effects seemed to be specific to depression rather than anxiety. Temperamentdid not predict escalation in externalizing symptomatology for girls, but low levels of fearpredicted increases in internalizing symptoms. There was also evidence for a decline in depressionspecific symptoms for girls characterized by high fear and low activity in infancy. These findingssuggest the importance of examining interactive models of temperament risk and consideringgender specific pathways to behavior problems.