Parental burnout : studies of associated factors, role of the spouse, testing the transactional model and identifying profiles of at-risk mothers

Contexte et objectifs : Dérivée du contexte professionnel, la notion de burnout parental a connu un essor récent dans la littérature scientifique (article 1). Ayant une prévalence élevée dans les pays occidentaux et des conséquences sur la vie familiale et les enfants, les objectifs de ce travail sont : 1) d'explorer les facteurs de vulnérabilité et de protection des mères face au burnout parental (article 2) ; 2) d'étudier le rôle spécifique du conjoint (article 3) ; 3) de tester l'application du modèle transactionnel au burnout parental (article 4) ; 4) d'établir des profils de mères à risque (article 5) ; 5) d'investiguer le vécu subjectif de la maternité des mères en burnout parental (article en cours de réalisation). Méthode : Deux études successives transversales ont été menées auprès de mères francophones pour répondre à ces objectifs. L'étude A (N=315 mères) comprend un volet quantitatif visant à évaluer par auto-questionnaires le burnout parental, le stress perçu, le soutien social, les stratégies de coping, l'anxiété et la dépression. L'étude B (N=1306 mères) comprend à la fois un volet quantitatif et un volet qualitatif. Le volet quantitatif est composé d'auto-questionnaires évaluant les mêmes variables que l'étude B en ajoutant le style d'attachement, le fardeau, la dépression post-natale et l'amour conjugal. Pour le volet qualitatif, des mères (N=18) ont répondu à un entretien semi-directif. Résultats : Les résultats soulignent que les mères ayant des symptômes d'anxiété et de dépression, utilisant des stratégies de coping centrées sur l'émotion et la recherche de soutien sont les mères les plus en situation de burnout parental. De plus, les résultats révèlent que les mères ayant un conjoint soutenant ont une meilleure santé mentale que les mères ayant un conjoint moins soutenant ou les mères célibataires. L'adaptation du modèle transactionnel au burnout parental est satisfaisante et offre une base dans l'élaboration d'un modèle de compréhension du burnout parental. Enfin, il apparait que les mères à risque sont plus jeunes, moins satisfaites de leur travail et de leur logement, ont une relation conjugale moins épanouissante et plus de symptômes d'anxiété et de dépression. Conclusion : Le burnout parental apparait être un syndrome psychologique singulier. La mise en exergue des facteurs associés, l'adaptation du modèle transactionnel et notamment l'identification de profils de mères à risques permettent d'envisager des retombées cliniques, que ce soit au niveau préventif ou thérapeutique. En outre, ces travaux ont ouvert de nombreuses perspectives de recherche concernant le concept de burnout parental.Context and objectives: Derived from the professional field, the notion of parental burnout has gained a recent growth in the scientific literature (article 1). Given the high prevalence of parental burnout in Western countries and its consequences on family life and children, the objectives of this work are: 1) to explore the factors of vulnerability and protection of mothers facing parental burnout (article 2); 2) to study the specific role of the spouse (article 3,); 3) to test the applicability of the transactional model to parental burnout (article 4); 4) to establish profiles of mothers at risk (article 5); 5) to investigate the subjective experience of motherhood of mothers with parental burnout (article in progress). Method: Two successive cross-sectional studies were conducted with French-speaking mothers to achieve these objectives. Study A (N=315 mothers) had a quantitative design aimed at assessing parental burnout, perceived stress, social support, coping strategies, anxiety and depression through self-questionnaires. Study B (N=1306 mothers) included both quantitative and qualitative data collection. The quantitative study is composed of self-report questionnaires assessing the same variables as Study B with the addition of attachment style, burden, postpartum depression and marital love. For the qualitative component, mothers (N=18) participated in a semi-structured interview. Results: The results highlight that mothers with symptoms of anxiety and depression, using emotionally focused coping strategies and seeking support, are the mothers with the highest manifestations of parental burnout. In addition, the results show that mothers with supportive spouses have better mental health than mothers with less supportive spouses or single mothers. The adaptation of the transactional model to parental burnout is satisfactory and provides a basis for developing a model for understanding parental burnout. Finally, it appears that at-risk mothers are younger, less satisfied with their work and housing, have a less fulfilling marital relationship and more symptoms of anxiety and depression. Conclusion: Parental burnout appears to be a singular psychological syndrome. The study of associated factors, the adaptation of the transactional model and, in particular, the identification of profiles of mothers at-risk allow us to draw clinical implications, on both at the preventive and therapeutic level. In addition, this work has opened up numerous research perspectives concerning the concept of parental burnout

Maternal Burnout Syndrome: Contextual and Psychological Associated Factors

Background: Becoming a parent is one of the most significant experiences in a woman’s life. Including substantial and long-lasting mental, social, and physical charge, the parenting experience may also be a potentially stressful and overwhelming task. Since the eighties, the notion of parental burnout syndrome has gained increasing attention, but its contextual and psychological factors need to be better identified.Aims: To investigate a large array of contextual and psychological factors associated with maternal burnout syndrome in a French community-based population in order to contribute to better operationalize the notion of parental burnout and to explore its determinants.Method: A total of 304 French-speaking mothers (mean age = 34.8 years, SD = 6.72) completed a set of questionnaires including a sociodemographic form (in order to gather general information about the mothers, their spouses, and children living at home). The Perceived Stress Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory adapted to parents (MBI-parental), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Parental Stress Index-Short Form and the Ways of Coping Checklist were used in this study.Results: Multivariate linear regression analyses revealed that scores on the MBI-parental version were strongly and positively associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as with perceived stress related to parenthood and parenting stress levels. Moreover, using the task-oriented coping style in parenthood was strongly and positively associated with personal accomplishment. Conversely, some sociodemographic characteristics were found to be negatively associated with maternal burnout: being employed, working full time and being a mother living without a coparent.Conclusion: The construct of maternal burnout syndrome seems to be linked to a conjunction of psychological and contextual factors associated with maternal exhaustion. The implication of the results for prevention and intervention strategies are discussed

COVID-19 and parental burnout: Parents locked down but not more exhausted

International audienceLockdowns put in place in response to the COVID-19 health crisis have changed daily functioning for families and potentially the emotional experience of individuals in their parenting role. Our study aimed to highlight the importance of the environmental consequences associated with lockdowns on parental burnout. We compared data on parental burnout levels from two French samples: the first collected in 2018 (N = 1332) and the second collected during the last month of lockdown (N = 522). Our results show that parents included during the lockdown period reported significantly, but slightly, higher saturation (a dimension of the parental burnout construct) than parents included 2 years earlier. However, the number of children per age group, maintaining employment, and having to provide schooling at home are not variables that explain differences in the level of parental burnout between our two samples. Our results are discussed with regard to the risk factors identified and the French context

Optimizing the Assessment of Parental Burnout: A Multi-informant and Multimethod Approach to Determine Cutoffs for the Parental Burnout Inventory and the Parental Burnout Assessment

International audienceParental burnout (PB) is a chronic stress-related condition resulting from long-lasting exposure to overwhelming parenting stress. Previous studies showing the seriousness of this condition stressed the urgent need to provide researchers and practitioners with effective assessment tools. Validated PB measures are the Parental Burnout Inventory (PBI) and the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA). The good psychometric properties of these instruments have been replicated across different samples and countries, but thresholds for identifying impairing PB levels (i.e., cutoff scores) have not yet been established. The present study aims to fill this gap by adopting a multi-informant and multimethod approach to a sample of 192 burned-out and control parents. PBI and PBA cutoffs were derived from the combination of several PB indicators, based on a preregistered analysis strategy. Results identified a score of 74.6 (95% confidence interval (CI) = [69.48–79.68]) for the PBI and 86.3 (95% CI = [79.49–93.03]) for the PBA as indicators of the most severe PB levels

Parental burnout across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all societies worldwide. The heightened levels of stress that accompanied the crisis were also expected to affect parenting in many families. Since it is known that high levels of stress in the parenting domain can lead to a condition that has severe consequences for health and well-being, we examined whether the prevalence of parental burnout in 26 countries (9,923 parents; 75% mothers; mean age 40) increased during COVID-19 compared to few years before the pandemic. In most (but not all) countries, analyses showed a significant increase in the prevalence of parental burnout during the pandemic. The results further revealed that next to governmental measures (e.g., number of days locked down, homeschooling) and factors at the individual and family level (e.g., gender, number of children), parents in less (vs. more) indulgent countries suffered more from parental burnout. The findings suggest that stricter norms regarding their parenting roles and duties in general and during the pandemic in particular might have increased their levels of parental burnout

Parental Burnout Across the Globe During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all societies worldwide. The heightened levels of stress that accompanied the crisis were also expected to affect parenting in many families. Since it is known that high levels of stress in the parenting domain can lead to a condition that has severe consequences for health and well-being, we examined whether the prevalence of parental burnout in 26 countries (9,923 parents; 75% mothers; mean age 40) increased during COVID-19 compared to few years before the pandemic. In most (but not all) countries, analyses showed a significant increase in the prevalence of parental burnout during the pandemic. The results further revealed that next to governmental measures (e.g., number of days locked down, homeschooling) and factors at the individual and family level (e.g., gender, number of children), parents in less (vs. more) indulgent countries suffered more from parental burnout. The findings suggest that stricter norms regarding their parenting roles and duties in general and during the pandemic in particular might have increased their levels of parental burnout.peerReviewe

Parental burnout across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all societies worldwide. The heightened levels of stress that accompanied the crisis were also expected to affect parenting in many families. Since it is known that high levels of stress in the parenting domain can lead to a condition that has severe consequences for health and wellbeing, parental burnout, we examined whether the prevalence of parental burnout in 26 countries (9923 parents; 75% mothers; mean age 40) increased during COVID-19 compared to few years before the pandemic. In most (but not all) countries, analyses showed a significant increase in the prevalence of parental burnout during the pandemic. The results further revealed that next to governmental measures (e.g., number of days locked down, home-schooling) and factors at the individual and family level (e.g., gender, number of children), parents in less (versus more) indulgent countries suffered more from parental burnout. The findings suggest that stricter norms regarding their parenting roles and duties in general and during the pandemic in particular might have increased their levels of parental burnout

Three reasons why parental burnout is more prevalent in individualistic countries: A 36-country study

Abstract Purpose The prevalence of parental burnout, a condition that has severe consequences for both parents and children, varies dramatically across countries and is highest in Western countries characterized by high individualism. Method In this study, we examined the mediators of the relationship between individualism measured at the country level and parental burnout measured at the individual level in 36 countries (16,059 parents). Results The results revealed three mediating mechanisms, that is, self-discrepancies between socially prescribed and actual parental selves, high agency and self-directed socialization goals, and low parental task sharing, by which individualism leads to an increased risk of burnout among parents. Conclusion The results confirm that the three mediators under consideration are all involved, and that mediation was higher for self-discrepancies between socially prescribed and actual parental selves, then parental task sharing, and lastly self-directed socialization goals. The results provide some important indications of how to prevent parental burnout at the societal level in Western countries.</jats:p