In this chapter, I rely on the notions of independent and interdependent pathways to relationship formation (Greenfield et al., 2003) to put peer interaction and parenting in a cross-cultural perspective and apply the equality model and apprentice model (Keller, 2003) to analyze culture-specific parental practices with children. I then attempt to integrate the main ideas from these different theoretical models and perspectives in the chapter.

According to Greenfield et al. (2003), the analysis of independent and interdependent cultural pathways may be undertaken in a fruitful way by using three perspectives: the ecocultural, the values, and the sociohistorical approaches. The ecocultural approach focuses on the way individuals adapt to specific environmental conditions, such as a densely populated urban area or a small-scale agrarian village setting. The independent pathway is more connected with the first setting, and the interdependent pathway more with the second setting. The values approach pays special attention to the systems of beliefs and ideas that individuals – especially parents – have concerning human development and socialization goals. These “ethnotheories” are shared by members of cultural communities. People from non-Western cultures, for example, often share the cultural ideal of interdependence. Individuals should be responsible members of their communities, respect older people, and be loyal to the family. In Western industrialized societies, independence is the cultural ideal. Appreciation of individual assertiveness and high self-esteem, and giving priority to individual goals, are indices of such an orientation.