High levels of stress in the parenting domain can lead to parental burnout, a condition that has severe consequences for both parents and children. It is not yet clear, however, whether parental burnout varies by culture, and if so, why it might do so. In this study, we examined the prevalence of parental burnout in 42 countries (17,409 parents; 71% mothers; M age = 39.20) and showed that the prevalence of parental burnout varies dramatically across countries. Analyses of cultural values revealed that individualistic cultures, in particular, displayed a noticeably higher prevalence and mean level of parental burnout. Indeed, individualism plays a larger role in parental burnout than either economic inequalities across countries, or any other individual and family characteristic examined so far, including the number and age of children and the number of hours spent with them. These results suggest that cultural values in Western countries may put parents under heightened levels of stress.
Objectives Although parental burnout can have detrimental consequences to families, the investigation of the syndrome is still in its infancy. The present study investigated what are the key family background variables that contribute to parental burnout among Finnish parents. Moreover, we investigated how self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism uniquely and interactively relate to parental burnout over and above the impacts of background variables. Methods Questionnaire-based data was collected from 1725 parents (91% mothers) and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results The results showed that when several family-and child-related background variables were taken into account, parent's age, unemployment, perceived poor financial situation of the family, and having a child with special needs, showed unique associations with burning out as a parent. Even more crucial risk factor for burning out was, however, socially prescribed perfectionism: the higher the level of socially prescribed perfectionism the parents reported, the higher the level of their parental burnout. The relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and parental burnout was further strengthened when parents reported also a high level of self-oriented perfectionism. Finally, the relationship between gender and parental burnout was mediated via perfectionism: mothers reported more socially prescribed and self-oriented perfectionism than fathers and, consequently, were also more burned out as parents. Conclusions The results suggest that in Finland specific attention should be given to families with poor financial resources and unemployment. Moreover, high social expectations experienced by the mothers could be balanced, for example, by teaching them skills of self-acceptance and compassion. Keywords Family background variables • Parental exhaustion • Self-expectations • Social expectations • Structural equation modeling
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The aim of the present study was to validate the Finnish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) using data from 1,688 Finnish parents (91% mothers) living in Finland with at least one child living at home. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the theoretical four‐factor structure of the PBA – emotional exhaustion in one’s parental role, contrast with previous parental self, feelings of being fed up with one’s parental role, and emotional distancing from one’s children. Internal consistency for the total scale was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha ≥ 0.90) and for the subscales from acceptable (alpha ≥ 0.70) to excellent. The results further demonstrated strict factorial invariance of PBA across genders and educational status groups. Finally, the PBA and its four subscales correlated as expected with the three criteria variables (depressive symptoms, sleep disruptions, and self‐esteem), the latent factors of all three criteria variables being still clearly unique and separate constructions from parental burnout factors.
Student-athletes who strive for success in high-level sports while pursuing upper secondary education may be prone to sport and school burnout. This study examined the co-developmental dynamic of sport and school burnout in Finnish adolescent student-athletes (N = 391; N = 373) across the first year of upper secondary school using cross-lagged structural equation modeling (SEM). Furthermore, we used sport and school-related achievement goals as predictors of sport and school burnout, namely sport and school-related exhaustion, cynicism, and feelings of inadequacy. The results showed that burnout dimensions in a particular domain were substantially stable within the same domain during the first year of upper secondary school and that school-related exhaustion at the beginning of upper secondary school predicted sport-related exhaustion at the end of the school year. Mastery goals in sport and school were negatively associated with cynicism and feelings of inadequacy within the same domain. Furthermore, performance goals in school were positively associated with school-related cynicism. The results can be used by healthcare professionals for early prevention of student-athletes' burnout.
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