ABSTRACT
Marc Bornstein, who has been writing about cross-cultural issues in child development and parenting for more than 40 years, quotes an oft-said line that there are only two contributions to children’s development: genes and parents. The classic parenting styles—authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative—are likewise affected by culture. For instance, in cultures that emphasize collectivism, a more authoritarian style may be more prevalent. With such a great amount of individual variation and interaction between parenting styles and culture, restrained exploration with tentative conclusions should especially be sought in this area. Lansford, Rothenberg, and Bornstein contrast parenting across nine countries and also offer insight into variations among ethnic groups in the United States. Classes in cross-cultural psychology can forge new research paths by concentrating on the stages of development from adolescence and beyond, on single parenting across cultures, and especially on grandparenting and other forms of extended family parental assistance.
