The Impact of Culture on Parenting and Psychopathology in Children: A Comparative Study Between Iran and Germany

Background: Previous research has consistently shown that parenting behavior and children’s psychopathology such as internalizing and externalizing problems are closely interrelated. However, little is known about the impact of culture in this field. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate parenting behaviors, childhood psychopathology, and their interrelation in Iran, representing a rather collective culture, and in Germany, representing an individualistic culture. Materials and Methods: In this comparative study, participants were 221 children from Iran and Germany, who voluntarily agreed to participate. The sample was collected between 2010 and 2011. Levels of children psychopathology were assessed, using the child depression inventory (CDI), and youth self-report (YSR) questionnaire. Parents completed children behavior check list (CBCL), and parenting scale (PS). Repeated measures ANOVAs, independent sample t-test, and Spearman correlations were used. Results: Iranian parents reported a more frequent use of parenting style of laxness when compared to German parents (P < 0.001). Furthermore, both children and parents in Iran reported more symptoms of internalizing and externalizing problems than the German sample (P < 0.001). Correlation analysis revealed a stronger relationship between over-reactivity with internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the Iranian group, while in the German sample, over-reactivity was related only to externalizing symptoms (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The study suggests that dysfunctional parenting such as over-reactivity is related to children’s psychopathology across different cultures. Nonetheless, our research also provides evidence that specific parenting practices and the reported levels of childhood psychopathology differ between collective and individualistic cultures, and that culture seems to be an important factor in this field.