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

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 countrie

Fancine 2009, n. 03

Abstract not availabl

Par-delà l’efficacité des interventions auprès de parents d’enfants difficiles, de possibles effets délétères pour la coparentalité ?

peer reviewedLes interventions destinées aux parents de jeunes enfants présentant des comportements difficiles ont montré leur efficacité. Se pose cependant la question de possibles effets délétères non attendus de ces interventions sur d’autres aspects de la parentalité. L’impact sur la coparentalité (collaboration entre les deux parents) est mesuré ici dans le cadre de deux interventions parentales de la recherche H2M, l’une visant à améliorer le sentiment de compétence parentale et l’autre la réactivité verbale des parents (N = 60). Les résultats montrent l’absence d’effets globaux négatifs de ces interventions sur la coparentalité du parent participant. Il apparaît cependant que l’évolution de la coparentalité varie selon que ce soit le père ou la mère qui participe et selon le type d’intervention. De plus, un lien négatif est montré entre l’évolution de la coparentalité et l’alliance thérapeutique que le parent noue avec les thérapeutes qui animent les interventions

Validation of the Ukrainian version of the Parental Burnout Assessment

The aim of the present study was to develop a Ukrainian version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) and examine its psychometric properties among Ukrainian parents. We examined the factorial structure of the Ukrainian version of the PBA (PBA-UA) and its relation with other variables, both antecedents and consequences of PB, in a sample of 1896 parents including 1735 (91,5%) mothers and 161 (8,5%) fathers. The original four-factor model (exhaustion from parental role, emotional distancing from one’s child, feelings of being fed up with parenting and contrast with previous parental self) and second-order model with a global parental burnout as a second-order factor fit the data well. The results of both subscale and global scores were reliable. The PBA-UA showed a positive association with perfectionism and general stress and a negative association with resilience. The low association with socio-demographic factors (i.e., marital status, number of children, number of children living in the household, work status) was replicated in accordance with previous studies of parental burnout, nevertheless mothers had higher level of parental burnout than fathers. PBA-UA also predicted both parental neglect and parental violence, even beyond general stress. The good psychometric properties of the PBA-UA suggests that this questionnaire can be used to assess parental burnout among Ukrainian parents

Associations between Relational Pronoun Usage and the Quality of Early Family Interactions

Our study examined the relationships of relational pronouns used in parental conversation to the quality of early family interactions, as indexed by Family Alliance (FA). We hypothesized that more positive family interactions were associated with the use of more we-pronouns (e.g., we, us, our; we-ness) and fewer I- and you-pronouns (e.g., I, me, you, your; separateness) by both mothers and fathers. Our statistical model using a multilevel modelling framework and two levels of analysis (i.e., a couple level and an individual level) was tested on 47 non-referred families (n = 31 primiparous families; child’s age, M = 15.75 months, SD = 2.73) with we-ness and separateness as outcomes and FA functions as between-dyads variables. Analyses revealed that we-ness within the parental couple was only positively associated with family affect sharing while separateness was negatively associated with different FA functions (e.g., communication mistakes). Our main finding suggested that the kinds of personal pronouns used by parental couples when discussing children’s education would be associated to the emotional quality of the family interactions

Le diagnostic précoce des troubles du comportement externalisé est-il fiable ? Mise à l’épreuve d’une procédure multi informateurs et multi méthodes

peer reviewedCette contribution questionne la fiabilité du diagnostic précoce des troubles du comportement externalisé chez l’enfant. Les données concernant le comportement de 118 enfants ont été collectées par questionnaires et observation auprès de leurs parents, leurs enseignants et les cliniciens lors du recrutement et après 12 mois. Les résultats montrent des variations importantes dans le nombre d’enfants atteignant un seuil clinique selon l’informateur et la méthode considérés. Une méthode combinant les évaluations des informateurs pour obtenir un diagnostic valide est éprouvée. Les résultats plaident en faveur d’une procédure multi-informateurs et multiméthodes dont les implications sont discutées sur le plan clinique et de la recherche.H2M childre

Mise au pont d’un instrument d’évalution de la personnalité des enfants à partir du modèle à cinq facteurs

Cet article décrit la construction d'échelles d'évaluation de la personnalité à partir d'items bipolaires, dérivées du Modèle à cinq facteurs (M.C.F.). Les évaluations ont été réalisées par des mères et des enseignant(e)s et concernent des enfants âgés de 3 à 12 ans. Les échelles bipolaires dérivées du Modèle à cinq facteurs (E.B.M.C.F.) sont constituées de 25 items, sélectionnés à partir d'un pool initial de 40 items. Les analyses factorielles ont montré que la structure du M.C.F. émerge de l'instrument et que le pourcentage de variance expliquée des différentes échelles est élevé. Celles-ci ne sont pas corrélées avec l'échelle de désirabilité sociale de Marlowe­Crowne et les coefficients de corrélation test-retest, à 7 jours d'intervalle, sont élevés.This article describes the construction of rating scales made up of bipolar items derived from the Five-Factor-Model. Ratings have been made by mothers and teachers and concerned three­to twelve-year-old children. The bipolar scales derived from the Five-Factor-Model (E.B.M.C.F.) are made up of 25 items selected from a pool of 40. Factor analyses showed that the Five­Factor-Model emerged from the items and that the percentage of explained variance was high. Internai consistency assessed by Cronbach's alpha and test-retest correlations assessed with a 7 day interval were high. The ratings were flot correlated with Marlowe-Crowne's scale of social desirability

Burnout across boundaries: can parental burnout directly or indirectly influence work outcomes?

Burnout, while historically considered a work-related condition, can be associated with parenting where it can have direct impacts upon parental outcomes and one’s personal resources such as mental health. However, little is known about the domain-incongruent effects of burnout and thus whether parental burnout can manifest within the workplace. The current study uses longitudinal data collected from 499 parents over three intervals across an 8-month period to explore two possible mechanisms. Firstly, a direct relationship is explored by considering whether parental burnout provides incremental validity above job burnout in the prediction of three work outcomes: job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and counterproductive work behaviors. Secondly, it is explored whether depression mediates the relationship between parental burnout and work outcomes. Findings suggest parental burnout may have limited impacts upon work outcomes, providing the impetus for a new direction of research to better understand whether or how burnout in one domain of life can influence the outcomes in other life domains

Are all Burned Out Parents Neglectful and Violent? A Latent Profile Analysis

peer reviewedExposure to chronic parental stress can lead to parental burnout, a syndrome encompassing three dimensions: an overwhelming exhaustion from one’s parental role, an emotional distancing from one’s children, and a sense of parental ineffectiveness. The first goal of this study was to examine whether there were different profiles of parents based on their levels of exhaustion, emotional distancing, and inefficacy. The second goal was to investigate the association between these profiles and different forms of neglect and violence toward children (i.e., physical neglect, emotional neglect, physical violence, and verbal violence). 2767 parents who had at least one child living at home completed the survey. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to analyze the data. LPA identified five profiles of parents (“Not in parental burnout”, “Inefficient”, “At risk of parental burnout”, “Emotionally exhausted and distant”, and “Burned out parents”), which were associated with different levels and forms of neglect and violence. Profiles in which high levels of exhaustion were associated with high levels of emotional distancing showed much higher levels of neglect and violence. Results also show that physical violence remains lower than the other forms of violence or neglect. The results first suggest that exhausted parents need to be diagnosed and cared for before exhaustion leads to emotional distancing. They also suggest that burned out parents inhibit physical violence more than the other forms of violence and neglect

Aiming to be perfect parents increases the risk of parental burnout, but emotional competence mitigates it

editorial reviewedParenting perfectionism, especially the dimension of perfectionistic concerns—preoccupation with self-criticism including concern over mistakes and doubts about own behaviors—, has been shown to be a weighty factor for parental burnout. Drawing on the Balance between Risks and Resources (BR2) theory of parental burnout, this paper examines whether emotional competence could moderate/buffer the effect of parenting perfectionism on parental burnout. We investigated this question in two independent samples of parents collected in Belgium (N = 347) and Poland (N = 377). The results of both studies show that emotional competence cancels out the detrimental effect of perfectionistic concerns on parental burnout. Beyond its contribution to parenting perfectionism and emotional competence literatures, the present article also provides further evidence of the potential of the BR2 theory of parental burnout