Cross-cultural studies were conducted to examine how parents influence children’s social development in cultural context. Two studies will be presented in this talk. The first study examined European American and Chinese late adolescents’ socio-emotional adjustment under the influence of their perceptions of parental socialization goals and parenting styles. Cultural similarities and differences were observed in the parental influences. Findings in this study indicate that parents in different cultures use different parenting styles to achieve their socialization goals. The second study examined parental and familial influences on children’s overt and social aggression in China. Specifically, parenting behaviors, marital conflict and parent-child attachment security were examined. All three aspects of influences were found to be associated with childhood aggression. Both studies enhance our understanding of parental influences of children’s social development in diverse cultural contexts.