Parenting styles and its impact on children – a cross cultural review with a focus on India

Parenting is a dynamic process, influenced by socio-cultural factors. It is an important contributing factor to child development and childhood psychopathology. Research investigating association between parenting styles and child outcome are limited in India. This paper aims to review studies conducted in West and in India in order to study cultural differences in parenting styles and its outcome. We found that despite hypothesized cultural differences between the West and India, the effect of parenting styles on children appear to be similar across culture, and culture did not serve as a moderator for parenting style and child outcome. An Authoritative parenting styles was associated with better outcome than authoritarian and neglectful/uninvolved parenting style in both Western countries and in India. Findings on indulgent/permissive parenting style were mixed in both Western countries and in India. The article discusses cultural shift in the parenting styles, and its implications for the future.