Parenting culture: A multimethod perspective on parenting practices among the Nso, Cameroon

Parenting behaviors are studied through various qualitative and quantitative methods, including observations, interviews, and questionnaires, to identify both culturally specific and universal patterns of parents' interactions with their offspring. However, these methods have rarely been combined to systematically investigate methodological convergence and divergence in capturing parenting dynamics. The present study employs a mixed method approach by including video observations, picture card interviews, and parenting ethnotheory questionnaires with a focus on a suburban Nso community in Cameroon, with 51 parents (M_age = 34 years; 43 mothers and eight fathers) of infants and toddlers (M_age = 8.2 months). Informed by Keller's Component Model of Parenting, videos and interviews were coded for target parenting behaviors, including primary care, body contact, body stimulation, face-to-face context, object stimulation, and vocalization. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted for the parenting ethnotheory questionnaire items, alongside correlational analysis, to examine links between the three methods. Findings indicated minimal methodological convergence and ample divergence, suggesting that each method taps into distinct aspects of parenting without a unified representation. Within-method analyses, nonetheless, showed substantial correlations, particularly within observation and picture card interview methodologies. These findings are broadly consistent with the Component Model of Parenting but highlight the need for methodological diversity to capture the rich variation of parenting practices employed among cultural communities that are underrepresented in mainstream developmental research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).