The purpose of this research was to identify convergecies and divergencies in ethnotheories,
socialization goals and parenting practices in two Amazonian ecological contexts, trying to
analyze the relationship between biological and ecoculturals factors. Ninety nine mothers
participated of the research: Fifty from Belém ( CEU – Urban context) and forty nine from
Santa Barbara ( CENU – non urban context) . The mothers aged over 18 years with at least
one child aged between 0 and 6 years. Data were collected through interviews and
questionnaires were applied for the data analysis were applied statistical criteria and
theoretical support of Evolutionary Psychology. The data indicated that the communities
studied in relation to sociodemographic data differ systematically from one another,
depending on the levels of technological development and organizations of social context.
The social world of children from CEU and CENU represent developmental contexts that
offer different opportunities. The literature indicates that the established social exchanges
between children and caregivers can reflect on the child's development in relation to the
cognitive, emotional and social. The results indicate that mothers of CEU despite being more
autonomous than those of CENU were relational too, showing that perhaps the changes that
affect the context, occurring faster in urbanized environments. Moreover, the data seem to
indicate that the contexts are transition from the interdependent model to an autonomousrelational
model. However, it is noted that the ideas that mothers have about the importance
of certain actions do not always reflect their practices. In relation to primary care mothers
seem to appreciate and perform equally. Mothers of CENU value more than mothers of CEU
the body contact. The results directed to body stimulation were very interesting, because the
items that were more important and charged by CEU mothers were the same that were less
important and charged by CENU mothers. With respect to object stimulation CEU mothers
give more importance to the practices than carrying out the practices and vice versa happens
in CENU. The mothers of CEU attributed greater importance to face face system. Our data
suggest that mothers of both contexts are using distal and proximal parenting strategies at the
same time, or want their children to become self-sufficient, but also want them to be
respectful and obedient. Moreover, our findings confirm that four systems describe the
interactional experiences of children and express the cultural emphasis of particular styles
and combinations. There were no significant differences in beliefs and practices between
CEU and CENU mothers, which led us to consider that parental beliefs, therefore adapt to
context, varied less conspicuously in the selected cities than in other cities examined in other
studies. Another issue found that was very interesting was about the CEU mothers’
educational level and the valorization of relational goals, because according literature, the
educational level of mothers becomes an important variable in relation to socialization goals.
CENU has shown a tendency to relational practices and relational goals. This context
provides a way of life closer to the interdependence model, in which mothers tend to value
the norms and rules determined by the family or group to which they belong. The hypothesis
that practices and goals of CEU would be more independent could not be confirmed, so we
realized that this context features both independent and interdependent models. It was
assumed that CENU and CEU contexts are undergoing changes, since mothers may believe
one thing and actually doing otherwise.
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