Abstract
The present study examined latent profiles of parental burnout dimensions (e.g., exhaustion in parental role, contrast with previous parental self, feelings of being fed up, and emotional distancing, measured with a shortened version of the parental burnout assessment scale) among Finnish parents of sixth and eighth grade children. In addition, the role of children’s strengths and difficulties (e.g., prosocial skills, hyperactivity, somatic problems, conduct problems, and peer problems) and parents’ growth mindset in predicting membership in the latent parental burnout profiles was examined. The participants were 1,314 parents (80% mothers) from the Helsinki Metropolitan area who filled in a questionnaire concerning their parenting burnout and child-related perceptions during the fall 2020. The results were analyzed using latent profile analysis (LPA) and three-step procedure. Three latent profiles of parental burnout were identified as: low parental burnout (85.7% of the parents), high parental burnout (8%), and emotionally distanced (6.3%) profiles. Parents who reported their children having some challenges (e.g., hyperactivity, somatic problems, conduct problems, and peer problems) more often belonged to the high burnout or emotionally distanced profiles rather than to the low parental burnout profile. Parents whose children had high prosocial skills and who employed growth mindset more often belonged to the low parental burnout rather than to the distanced profile.
Highlights
For many parents, parenting is a highly rewarding experience with multiple positive consequences, such as increases in the meaning of life, happiness, and wellbeing (Nelson et al, 2013)
The present study examined latent profiles of parental burnout dimensions among Finnish parents of sixth and eighth grade children
The present study examined parental burnout profiles during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
For many parents, parenting is a highly rewarding experience with multiple positive consequences, such as increases in the meaning of life, happiness, and wellbeing (Nelson et al, 2013). The pandemic resulted in lockdowns and quarantines across countries, causing severe turmoil in many families’ lives. In Finland, most schools were closed nearly 2 months during the initial phase of COVID-19 in spring 2020. They were again opened during the fall 2020, the time when the current data were collected. Lockdowns caused severe financial strain in many families’ lives, and while parents needed to multitask and balance with their work and family duties, challenges related to these unexpected changes in work and family life may have resulted in altered parental burnout symptoms (see Griffith, 2020)
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