The study aimed to explore the ideal-parent beliefs among mothers and fathers from 37 countries to determine whether the definition of an ideal parent varied across countries and social classes. Open-ended questions were used to gather data, and Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis was utilized to identify parenting culture zones and extract the predominant themes and concepts in each culture zone. The results revealed specific types of ideal-parent beliefs in five parenting culture zones, with subtle differences between the English-speaking, European Union, and Russian parents emphasizing "being caring," while French-speaking parents valued "listening" or being "present." Additionally, ideal-parent beliefs varied by education levels within culture zones, suggesting that social class differences should not be dismissed in parenting intervention research.

This paper proposes that the socio-cultural values of countries may be associated with increased mortality due to COVID-19. Using results from the World Values survey, the author assessed which values had the strongest association with a change in COVID-19 mortality in datasets consisting of all countries, upper-middle and high income economies, upper-middle income economies, high income economies, and advanced economies. The author also sought to determine whether the WVS values that were associated with COVID-19 mortality were also associated with general life expectancy. The results showed that COVID-19 mortality was increased in countries that placed a higher value on freedom of speech, political participation, religion, technocracy, post-materialism, social tolerance, law and order, and acceptance of authority. On the other hand, mortality was decreased in countries with high trust in major companies and institutions and that endorsed maintenance of order as a goal for a country. The author also found that values related to COVID-19 mortality did not predict general health outcomes, and that some values that predicted increased COVID-19 mortality actually predicted decreased mortality from other outcomes.

How does the use of corporal punishment or physical discipline of children vary across hunter-gatherer and agro-pastoralist societies? Through a comparative analysis of 139 egalitarian and agrarian cultures, the author finds that 1. The use of corporal punishment against children is higher in agrarian societies than in hunter-gatherer societies, where it is absent or infrequently practiced, and 2. This difference in the use of corporal punishment is correlated with cultural parental attitudes, such as affection towards children, indulgence in children’s behavior, responsiveness to children’s needs, children’s autonomy, and father involvement. Low corporal punishment generally is related to more affection, higher indulgence, more autonomy of children, and higher father presence. The relationships are much stronger in agrarian societies.

This study analyzes the relationship between communal democracy and family size. Results show a weakly significant negative correlation between communal leadership and family size. Authors suggest that this relationship could be challenged based on the known curvilinear relationship between family size and cultural complexity. However, several further tests suggest that there are grounds for maintaining that family size has some independent influence on the existence of communial democracy.

This study explores cultural variables associated with frequency of drunkenness and ceremonial drinking. Particular attention was paid to childhood socialization variables, as well as politcal and social organization. Results show a low correlation between frequency of drunkenness and frequency of ceremonial drinking, and various other variables are associated with each.

This study examines the lineal-collateral value orientation, wherein “emphasis is placed on the individual as an integral part of an extended family type of structure which is primary” (3). Analysis suggests this value orientation is associated with restriction of premarital sexual practices and pregnancy.

Cultures vary widely in regards to beauty standards for female body fat: while industrialized nations typically prefer thinness in women, ethnographic reports indicate that plumpness is valued in many small-scale societies. Here the authors evaluate several hypotheses that relate variation in female body fat preference to variation in socioecology such as food storage, climate, male social dominance, valuation and restriction of women's work, and female stress during adolescence.

This study explores the extent to which heterosexual sex, love, and intimacy are interrelated and the degree to which the sexual revolution has had a positive or negative impact on male-female relationships. The author employs a correlation matrix to examine the interrelationships of several variables related to aloofness and intimacy in the sexual and non-sexual aspects of heterosexual relationships. Results suggest that the sexual revolution has had some positive effects on male-female relationships, but also that sexual behavior does not predict the degree to which marriages are intimate or aloof. Results also show little support for the hypothesis that marital aloofness is related to hypermasculinity.

This study undertakes a systematic exploration of the relationship between ecological conditions and human cultural variation, responding to the research question: “How much of cultural variation can be explained by ecology?”. The authors use a dataset comprising 9 ecological variables: rainfall, temperature, GDP, the Gini index of resource inequality, extrinsic mortality, life expectancy, disease threat, unemployment and population density. They assess the relation between these 9 variables and 66 cultural variables across 201 countries. In addition, the study considers the effects of spatial and cultural autocorrelation, including 11 distinct statistical metrics. The results are consistent with the idea that ecological variables make a substantial contribution to human cultural variation, and particularly multiple ecological variables simultaneously. Current levels and average levels of ecological conditions emerge as particularly influential. Conversely, markers of ecological variability and unpredictability demonstrate more relatively little influence.

In the present study, Feather explores the relationship between floor plan shape and settlement permanence in order to theorize how mobility strategy influences floor plan choice. Feather incorporates the theoretical framework of previous studies by examining how floor plans and building materials vary across mobility and residential strategies, as well as social and political concerns.