Understanding Parental Burnout in Parents of ADHD Children: Development and Psychometric Analysis of a New Questionnaire.

During emergencies like wartime, parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face heightened challenges, potentially leading to Parental Burnout (PB). Wartime conditions can exacerbate children's behavioral difficulties, contributing to PB. Protective factors such as successful Emotional Regulation (ER) and perceived social support may mitigate PB. This study aims to compare child behavioral problems, parental ER difficulties, perceived social support, stress, and PB between parents of children with ASD and Typical Development (TD) during wartime. It also investigates how ER difficulties, perceived social support, and stress moderate the relationship between child behavioral problems and PB. The study included 213 Israeli parents: 101 parents of children diagnosed with ASD and 112 parents of TD children. Participants were recruited during the "Swords of Iron" War using purposive sampling via online platforms. Findings indicate that children with ASD exhibited higher levels of behavioral problems, and their parents experienced increased difficulties in ER, stress, and PB, alongside decreased perceived social support compared to parents of TD children. Moderation analysis revealed that ER difficulties, perceived social support, and stress moderated the direct association between child behavioral problems and PB specifically among parents of TD children. This study underscores the heightened vulnerability of parents with ASD-diagnosed children during wartime, emphasizing the importance of understanding how these circumstances impact parental well-being and available resources. Effective interventions should target enhancing ER, social support, and addressing parental stress, PB, and child behavioral issues, underscoring the need for prioritized services despite wartime challenges.

Parental duties can be overwhelming, particularly when parents lack sufficient resources to cope with parenting demands, leading to parental burnout. Research has shown that parental burnout is positively related to neglect and abuse behaviors towards their children; however, few studies have examined parental burnout within the family system, including examining parenting styles as an antecedent, and most research has ignored the potential influence of fathers’ parental burnout. This study aimed to explore the influence of fathers’ parenting stress and parenting styles on internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in a sample of junior high school students and the mediating effect of parental burnout. Questionnaire data from 236 students (56.4% girls) and their fathers (age: M = 39.24, SD = 5.13) were collected on 3 different time points. Fathers were asked to report their parenting stress and parenting styles at Time 1, and parental burnout at Time 2, and students were asked to report their internalizing and externalizing behaviors at Time 3. The results indicated that: (1) fathers’ parenting stress and negative parenting styles were positively related to parental burnout, and fathers’ positive parenting styles were negatively related to parental burnout; (2) fathers’ parental burnout was positively related to children’s internalizing and externalizing problem behavior; and (3) fathers’ parental burnout could mediate the relationship between parenting stress, negative parenting styles, and internalizing and externalizing problem behavior. These results suggested that fathers’ roles in the parenting process were not negligible, and more attention should be given to prevention and intervention methods for fathers’ parental burnout.

ФЕНОМЕН БАТЬКІВСЬКОГО ВИГОРАННЯ ЯК ПРЕДМЕТ ПСИХОЛОГІЧНОГО ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ

IntroductionAlthough parenting is a worthwhile and joyful process, it can also cause stress, potentially leading to parental burnout. With the implementation of the three-child policy in China, more parenting hours and higher economic costs may increase the risk of parental burnout.ObjectivesThis study investigated how was maternal parenting stress related to mothers’ parental burnout, as well as the potential mediating effect of their marital satisfaction and the moderating effect of their socioeconomic status on this relationship.MethodsData were collected from 314 mothers living in mainland China. The Chinese versions of the Parenting Burnout Assessment Scale, Parenting Stress Index, and Marriage Perception Scale were used to measure mothers’ parental burnout, parenting stress, and marital satisfaction.ResultsMothers‘ parenting stress was significantly and positively related to mothers’ parenting burnout. Mothers’ marital satisfaction mediated this relationship. Mothers’ socioeconomic status moderated the first half of the mediation model, and parenting stress exhibited a greater effect on marital satisfaction when mothers had a higher socioeconomic status.DiscussionThese findings indicated that mothers’ parenting stress could be alleviated by increasing marital satisfaction, which, in turn, reduced the risk of parental burnout. Furthermore, socioeconomic status may enhance the negative effects of parenting stress on marital satisfaction among mothers.

ObjectiveParental burnout is a significant problem that negatively effects parent-child interaction, parenting skills, and child well-being. Research has identified parenting stress as one of the leading factors in parent burnout. Although crucial connections have been explained between parenting stress and parental burnout, not much is known about how parenting self-efficacy operates in these relationships. This study aims to investigate the roles of parenting self-efficacy and number of children in the relationship between parenting stress and parental burnout.MethodsThe participants consist of a total of 456 parents (Mage = 35.64 ± 9.28, Range = 25–65 years). The data were collected using a personal information form, the Parenting Stress Scale, the Parental Burnout Scale and the Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale. Relationships among variables were examined using Pearson’s correlation, while moderated mediation analysis was carried out using Hayes’s bootstrapping.ResultsThe correlation analyses reveal a negative relationship between parenting self-efficacy and parenting stress, between parenting self-efficacy and parental burnout, and between parenting self-efficacy and number of children, while a positive significant relationship was found between parenting stress and parental burnout. The mediation analyses show parenting self-efficacy to mediate the correlation between parenting stress and parental burnout. The mediating effect of parenting self-efficacy is also moderated by number of children.ConclusionsThis study provides empirical evidence for the effect of parenting stress and parenting self-efficacy on parental burnout, with fewer children in the household alleviating parental burnout.

This study investigated the role of resilience as a mediator and the place of residence as a moderator of parenting stress and parental burnout. The Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, Parental Burnout Assessment, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were administered to 249 Chinese parents of children with ASD (M = 33.95years, SD = 7.6). Results show that resilience partially mediates the relation between parenting stress and parental burnout. Besides, both the effect of parenting stress on parental burnout and the mediating effect of resilience are moderated by rural/urban residence. This study highlights parenting stress is a risk factor for parental burnout and resilience is the potential mechanism underlying this relation. These findings provide implications for family services for parents of children with ASD.

Parents to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are exposed to numerous demands in their daily lives and exhibit high levels of stress. The present study aims to find out which coping resources are mediators that help parents cope with these demands and which of those coping resources amplify or reduce stress arising from the demands. Studies often only focus on the connection between coping resources and stress without taking the demands into account at the same time. For this reason, a mediation model was set up to answer the research question. Data from a German questionnaire survey with N = 266 parents who have children with ASD (two to 23 years old) were used. Subjectively perceived demands in everyday life (scale "Parental demands in everyday life"), parental stress ("Parental Stress Inventory", based on Abidin's parenting stress model) and the following coping resources were collected: parental self-efficacy beliefs ("Parents' sense of competence questionnaire"), available social support of parents (scale "Availability of social support") and parental coping strategies (German version of the Brief COPE). An exploratory factor analysis revealed four mediators: dysfunctional coping, functional coping, social support, and self-efficacy. The use of dysfunctional behavior and parental self-efficacy were found to be significant mediators that mediated between daily demands and parental stress. A direct effect of demands on parental stress was also found, implying partial mediation. The two factors of functional coping and support were not found to be significant mediators. Key findings indicate that parental stress resulting from the daily demands of parenting children with ASD can be reduced by high parental self-efficacy and increased by dysfunctional coping. For practice, it can be deduced that dysfunctional coping strategies of parents to children with ASD should be reduced and parental self-efficacy should be strengthened in order to reduce stress which arises from the multiple demands in everyday life.

BackgroundParental burnout is a concept that reflects the emotional exhaustion and emotional distance of parents from children due to their inability to cope with the pressure of parenting. It has been confirmed that parents of autistic children are at higher risk for parental burnout. Additional research has suggested a relationship between parental burnout and parents’ personality traits. However, the relationship between alexithymia, an independent personality factor, with parental burnout is little to none.ObjectiveTo look into the connection between parental burnout and alexithymia among parents of autistic children.MethodThree hundred and one parents were approached for recruitment and data were collected from 203 parents through a cross-sectional survey assessing parental burnout, alexithymia status, and perceived social support. Because the data is not normally distributed, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient rho(p) was used to assess the correlation between the variables; and then using AMOS to analyze the mediating effects of perceived social support and the moderating effect of gender.ResultThe result showed that (1) There is a negative association between alexithymia with parental burnout (β = 0.6, p < 0.01), while perceive social support was the negative predictor of alexithymia (β = −0.45, p < 0.01) and parental burnout (β = −0.26, p < 0.01); (2) perceive social support partially mediated the relationship between alexithymia and parental burnout of parents of autistic children, which can explain 16.3% of the total effect; (3) Gender plays a moderating role in the first half of the indirect effect of alexithymia on parental burnout, as evidenced by the significant difference in path coefficients between the male and female models (male: β = −0.10, p < 0.05; female: β = −0.60, p < 0.05).ConclusionHealth professionals and policymakers should be aware of parental burnout among parents of autistic children in China and take early intervention steps. Furthermore, they should recognize the negative impact of alexithymia and the positive impact of social support when developing plans to alleviate parental burnout in children with autism, with a particular focus on mothers with alexithymia, who are more likely to experience low social support and burnout than fathers with alexithymia.

Based on the theory of Job Demands-Resources, this study has been set out to examine how parenting demands, parenting resources affect parental burnout of primary school students' parents. An online survey with four scales (Parenting Stress Scale, Perceived Family Support Scale, Psychological Resilience Scale and Parental Burnout Scale) was completed by 600 parents of students from three primary schools in Central China. Structural equation models were implemented. Parenting stress had a positive impact on parental burnout (β = 0.486, p < 0.001). Both perceived family support (β = -0.228, p < 0.001) and psychological resilience (β = -0.332, p = 0.001) had a negative impact on parental burnout. Perceived family support played a moderating role between parenting stress and parental burnout (β = -0.121, p < 0.001). Psychological resilience also played a moderating role between parenting stress and parental burnout (β = -0.201, p < 0.001). Psychological resilience partially mediated the relationship between perceived family support and parental burnout. The total effect was -0.290, with 95% CI (-0.350, -0.234). Direct effect was -0.228, with 95% CI (-0.283, -0.174), and indirect effect was -0.062, with 95% CI (-0.092, -0.037). Parental burnout may be reduced by increasing family support and self-improvement of psychological resilience. In the same way, the impact of parenting stress on parental burnout may be buffered under high-pressure situations.

The article is devoted to the study of level indicators and the relationship between parental burnout, perceived stress, post-traumatic growth and social support in mothers of children with disabilities. The study involved 73 women, aged from 27 to 44 years (average age 36.15 years), raising children with severe chronic diseases aged 3 to 10 years (average age 7 years, average duration of the disease — 4 years, chronic the disease must have been detected in the child at least 1.5 years ago). Methods: Questionnaire “Perceived Stress Scale — 10” adapted by V.A.Ababkov; social support questionnaire “F-SOZU-22” developed by G. Som- mer, T.Fydrich, 1993 and adapted by A.B.Kholmogorova, N.G.Garanyan, G.A.Petrova; Pa- rental burnout questionnaire by I.N.Efimova; Post-traumatic growth questionnaire by R.Tedeschi, L.Calhoun, adapted by M. Sh. Magomed-Eminov. The study found high levels of perceived stress, average levels of parental burnout and post-traumatic growth, and below average levels of social support among mothers of children with disabilities. Close relations between social support and post-traumatic growth, social support and stress, and parental burnout were revealed, while relations were found between indicators of post-traumatic growth and parental burnout and stress with only one indicator of post-traumatic growth — “personal strength”. Emotional support, satisfaction with support, and subjective marital satisfaction were predictors of parental burnout and stress, and social integration was a predictor of post-traumatic growth. For mothers to cope with the stress associated with a child’s chronic illness, as well as post-traumatic growth, social support is the most important factor.

Covid-19 pandemic has changed the routines of families all over the world. From March 2020 up to today, Italian families are still struggling for adaptation. Parents of children and adolescents with a clinical diagnosis are more at risk for parental burnout, depression, and anxiety, and they are now experiencing restrictions in many services families relied on. Home-based and hospital-based interventions based on the Play Specialist’s approach have been limited due to anti-covid norms. Internationally, Play Specialist intervention has been empirically demonstrated effective in diminishing children’s negative emotions in relation to medical procedures and in increasing adaptation and compliance towards medical settings. Plus, Play Specialist’s intervention indirect effect on parental wellbeing is still unexplored. In Italy, differently from UK and USA, the Play Specialist intervention is not certified in the health-care system yet. The present study tests the effects on parental psychosocial health of a telematic adaptation of the Play Specialist approach (TPS), conducted in the post-lockdown months in Italy. Two groups of parents (N=33, Mean age=43.36, SD=9.81, Female= 66% receiving the TPS intervention, and N=33 Mean age=41.84, SD=6.15, Female=78% controls) of children in clinical conditions are compared. Parental burnout, anxiety, stress, depression, social support, and parental perception of children’s emotional problems have been measured via self-report questionnaires. Analysis of covariance reveals that the TPS group is less stressed, perceives higher social support, lower parental burnout (i.e., emotional distancing, contrast with other/previous Self, fed-up feeling), lower emotional and behavioural child’s problems than the control group. These findings are addressed at encouraging both research and practice around the Play Specialist’s intervention beyond the hospital-context.

Covid-19 pandemic has changed the routines of families all over the world. From March 2020 up to today, Italian families are still struggling for adaptation. Parents of children and adolescents with a clinical diagnosis are more at risk for parental burnout, depression, and anxiety, and they are now experiencing restrictions in many services families relied on. Home-based and hospital-based interventions based on the Play Specialist’s approach have been limited due to anti-covid norms. Internationally, Play Specialist intervention has been empirically demonstrated effective in diminishing children’s negative emotions in relation to medical procedures and in increasing adaptation and compliance towards medical settings. Plus, Play Specialist’s intervention indirect effect on parental wellbeing is still unexplored. In Italy, differently from UK and USA, the Play Specialist intervention is not certified in the health-care system yet. The present study tests the effects on parental psychosocial health of a telematic adaptation of the Play Specialist approach (TPS), conducted in the post-lockdown months in Italy. Two groups of parents (N=33, Mean age=43.36, SD=9.81, Female= 66% receiving the TPS intervention, and N=33 Mean age=41.84, SD=6.15, Female=78% controls) of children in clinical conditions are compared. Parental burnout, anxiety, stress, depression, social support, and parental perception of children’s emotional problems have been measured via self-report questionnaires. Analysis of covariance reveals that the TPS group is less stressed, perceives higher social support, lower parental burnout (i.e., emotional distancing, contrast with other/previous Self, fed-up feeling), lower emotional and behavioural child’s problems than the control group. These findings are addressed at encouraging both research and practice around the Play Specialist’s intervention beyond the hospital-context.

The study of parental burnout has become an emerging topic in the field of parenting and in the field of mental health. Its negative effects are especially noteworthy. However, research on the potential mechanisms through which parental burnout may influence emotional problems in childhood remains limited. This study aims to examine the association between parental burnout and children's emotional problems and the underlying mechanism. A short-term longitudinal survey by 1-month interval was conducted by using the Short Version of Parental Burnout Assessment (Time 1), Coparenting Relationship Scale (Time 1), Parent-child Relationship Scale (Time 2) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Time 3), which were administered to the parents (Mean = 37.66 years old) of 621 elementary school children (50.9% boys; Mean = 8.93 years old). SPSS PROCESS models 4 and 8 were used to examine the moderated mediation model. After controlling for background information, this three-wave longitudinal study showed that (1) parental burnout was associated with greater emotional problems among children; (2) parent-child conflict partially mediated the relationship between parental burnout and children's emotional problems; (3) coparenting moderated the relationship between parental burnout and parent-child conflict. The study's findings provide insight into the relationship between parental burnout and children's emotional problems as well as the process underlying this relationship, which may contribute to the prevention of parental burnout and children's emotional problems.

Increased and long-term parental stress related to one's parental role can lead to parental burnout. In the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, families experienced intensified pressure due to the government-initiated contact restrictions applied to prevent the spread of the virus in the population. This study investigates the risk factors and predictors of parental burnout in a large sample of parents (N=1488) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway. Demographic and psychosocial factors were assessed at two timepoints: at the beginning of the pandemic outbreak in March 2020 (T1) and at 3months follow-up (T2). A hierarchical regression analysis was applied to identify the factors that contribute to parental burnout at T2. Parental burnout was additionally explored across subgroups. Findings revealed that younger age was associated with more parental burnout. Concurrent (T2) use of unhelpful coping strategies, insomnia symptoms, parental stress, and less parental satisfaction was significantly associated with the presence of greater parental burnout (T2). Additionally, parental stress and satisfaction measured in the earliest phase of the pandemic (T1) were associated with parental burnout 3months later (T2) over and above concurrent parental stress/satisfaction. Unemployed parents and individuals with a mental health condition were identified as subgroups with substantially heightened levels of parental burnout.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about many changes in family routines and introduced new stressors for parents. While stressors can lead to parental burnout, coparenting support may mitigate the effects of parental stress on parental burnout. The current study explored the effects of parental stress, COVID-19 stress, and coparenting support on parental burnout during the second year of the pandemic. Participants consisted of one hundred fifty-five parents in the USA (M = 39.6, SD = 7.38; female = 94.8%). Results suggested parental stress was positively associated with parental burnout while coparenting support was negatively associated with parental burnout. These findings highlight the importance of addressing parental stress and support to minimize the risk of parental burnout.