Some Psychosocial Predictors of Parental Burnout in Mothers of Children Below the Age of Five

Abstract

Parental burnout is the result of chronic stress and manifests
as emotional exhaustion in the role of a parent, emotional
detachment, and loss of parental fulfilment. This study aimed
to examine how sociodemographic variables, personality
traits, parental self-efficacy, marital aspects, and social
support contribute to parental burnout. Mothers of children
below the age of five (N = 255) completed online the
parental burnout questionnaire, the IPIP-50 personality
questionnaire, questionnaires of perfectionism, parental
competence, marital relationship quality, social support, and
the general data questionnaire. Parental burnout was
reported by 3.5% of mothers. Hierarchical regression
analysis revealed that higher parental burnout can be
explained by sociodemographic variables (higher number of
children and more urban area of living), personality traits
(low emotional stability, low agreeableness, and high
perfectionism), and low parental self-efficacy. Although
related to parental burnout, marriage aspects and social
support were not significant predictors of burnout. The
findings have both theoretical and practical implications for
recognising and preventing parental burnout, while
providing a basis for further research.