ABSTRACT
The first comprehensive statements on determinants of parental behavior were published in 1980. Four types of influences on parents were identified: general cultural factors, individual factors, interpersonal factors and the setting. Four major macrosystem determinants have been studied to date: culture, socioeconomic status, racial or ethnic group membership, and education. These determinants represent the most general influences on parental behavior. The exosystem refers to social structures, settings, or phenomena that have an impact on interactions, even though the child is not directly involved. The ecological systems theory was used to organize the influences and show how some determinants were nested within each other. A complete understanding of parental influences must take a dynamic perspective that appreciates the complex interrelations of variables on parenting. Parenting behavior is determined by more than thirty types of influences. These range from global cultural traditions to subtle cognitive or affective variables.
