**1. Introduction**

#### **1.1. Culture and parenting strategies**

From anthropological perspective culture may be defined as a whole complex of traditional behaviour which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, religion and customs, and any other capabilities, and habits, that have been acquired and developed by the human race, as members of societies, and which is successively learned by each generation. In addition culture also consists of learned ways of acting, feeling and thinking, [1, 2]. The implication from this definition is that culture could be learned, acquired, experienced, and transmitted from one generation to another generation, or can be transferred from one place to another through acculturation.

From psychological perspective culture was conceptualised as a dynamic and socially interactive process and as comprising of two components [3]. One component deals with the creation of shared activity which is reflected in the cultural practices of members of the society. The second component deals with the creation of shared meaning which leads to cultural interpretations collectively given to behavioural patterns in the society. The cultural practices are regarded as the material side of culture while the shared meaning represents the symbolic side of culture and the interpretation and evaluation of the world. This perspective signifies the fact that culture is both inside and outside the individual [3].

From cross cultural perspective, two types of cultures have been identified and differentiated into individualistic and collectivistic cultures [4]. From this perspective it is believed that culture shapes people's values and beliefs, and that specific attitudes and values differ between the individualistic and collectivistic societies [4].

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Individualistic cultures tend to give priority to independence and the pursuit of individual achievement, whereas collectivistic cultures tend to place more emphasis on the individual's contribution to the well-being of the family and the community [5]. The implication here is that there are cultural differences between individualistic and collectivistic societies, and these differences are variations in values that are of particular importance to each society and differential emphases placed upon particular practices in the society [3, 6]. The cultural values of a society thus shape people's values in that society and consequently their interactions with their children and their parenting styles. This inference is what informed the deduction that in collectivistic countries parents tend to promote values such as helpfulness, conformity, and interdependence within the family [5].

it [8], and if certain goals or expectations or attributes are preferred more in one culture compared to another then parents will likely place more emphasis on those particular attributes that are preferred in their culture for their children to acquire [9]. The implication here is that the culture in which one lives will likely impact on the particular type of parenting

Cultural Variations in Parenting Styles in the Majority World Evidences from Nigeria and Cameroon

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/57003

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Baumrind (1971) categorized parenting strategies into three types of parenting style namely authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles. She described authoritarian parenting as restrictive and punitive, placing firm limit and control on children with little or no verbal exchange, and is said to be associated with social incompetence and poor communication skills [11]. Authoritative parents put some limits and controls on their children's actions, but they allow verbal dialogue which promotes parental responsive‐ ness, encourages independence, social and cognitive competence, self reliance and social responsibility in the children. In permissive parenting few or no rules and little or no controls are exerted over the children. The children under this parenting style are given complete freedom to make their life decisions and behave autonomously and independent‐ ly [11]. This type of parenting style is also presumed to be associated with social incompe‐

In Nigeria, parenting strategies embrace all the three single parenting styles that has been described [10], with emphasis on obedience to authority and compliance with parental instructions [13]. This emphasis arises from the fact that, Nigeria being predominantly a hierarchical and patriarchal nation, the traditional society values respect for elders and authority figures and in particular parental authority in a family where the man is the head of the family. As a result many Nigerian parents demand for obedience to parental authority, and compliance with parental instructions from their children. However many of the parents accompany such demands for obedience and compliance with instructions, with responsive‐ ness, love, care, sensitivity, reciprocal dialogue, and explanations for parental disciplinary actions. The combination of demand for obedience and responsiveness by parents allows Nigerian children to perceive their parents as authoritative some of the time and authoritarian at other times. This inference has been supported by research findings that indicated that authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles as well as their hybrids are significantly

In Cameroon, child bearing is highly valued and beliefs and practices concerning child rearing vary by ethnic group. However certain values are commonly held by the ethnic groups. These values include the importance that the Cameroonians attach to learning by example and learning through play. They also attribute importance to observational learning by teaching their children to observe and imitate tasks performed by adults [15, 16]. It has been reported that the dominant family pattern in Cameroon is the patrilineal and extended or joint family [17]. This family pattern promotes interdependence, and the culture of the society is collectiv‐

style that one uses or practices.

tence and lack of self control [12, 10].

practiced by Nigerian parents [14, 13]

**2. Parenting strategies in Nigeria & Cameroon**

The promotion of different values in different cultures would affect child outcomes in such cultures because each culture would have different goals and expectations of their citizens and children in such cultures would be socialized under different conditions. As such an effective parenting style in one culture may not be as effective as in other cultures. In a study carried out on cultural differences in parenting styles the researchers found cultural differences in effective parenting styles practiced by White American and Asian American families [7]. They found that White American families practiced authoritative parenting which involves support in form of (hugging and praising their children), and control in form of (setting clear expect‐ ations and moderate limits). These parental behaviours are also taken as parental warmth and acceptance. In the case of the Asian American families, who are made up of Chinese and Fillipino Americans, it was found that they are stricter in their parenting strategy and exhibit high control over their children and they lack warmth [7]. The researchers found that these Asian American families practice this parenting approach because they believe that control is necessary to parenting and strictness is an attempt to protect their children and not to inhibit them. They found that the Chinese Americans in particular value respect for authority, devotion to parents, emotional restraint (which is developed as a strategy for saving face later in life), and education. They also found that Chinese parents who train their children are very involved with their children's lives and they must have been using these parenting strategies, ( e.g. authoritarian parenting strategy + involvement which indicates love), including (physical discipline -which they found difficult to practice in the U.S.), to achieve their goals of parenting which include developing these values in the children. They also found that the Fillipino Americans are interdependent and they depend on each other for support because they value reciprocal relationships. They also value affection and closeness and protection for their children especially their daughters. These values must have also guided their parenting strategies. In addition, it was also reported that first- generation Chinese youth from author‐ itarian homes do just as well in school as those from authoritative homes indicating that although authoritative parenting may benefit some ethnic groups it is not necessarily more beneficial than authoritarian parenting [7].

Families as social groups are influenced by the context around them and family relationships and parent-child interactions are each influenced by cultural context [4]. Depending on the culture therefore there are differences in child rearing practices. It has also been suggested that if parenting behaviour is consistent with cultural values then children in that culture will accept it [8], and if certain goals or expectations or attributes are preferred more in one culture compared to another then parents will likely place more emphasis on those particular attributes that are preferred in their culture for their children to acquire [9]. The implication here is that the culture in which one lives will likely impact on the particular type of parenting style that one uses or practices.
