Parental Responsibility, Parental Pressure, and Parental Burnout

Abstract

Partly due to evolving parenting science, parents are increasingly aware of their responsibilities. While this has enhanced efforts in parenting, could the (over)emphasis on parental responsibility for various child outcomes create pressure? Furthermore, is this pressure linked to parental burnout (PB)? This pre-registered study tested the hypothesis that an emphasis on parental responsibility for multiple child outcomes (i.e., health, safety, well-being, behavior, development, achievement) from various internal (i.e., self, life history) and external sources (i.e., partner, school, peers, media) correlates with greater acceptance of internal and external parental pressure, which in turn relates to higher PB scores. An online survey was completed by 601 English-speaking parents (including 298 fathers). The mediation model was examined using structural equation modeling, as preregistered. Findings indicate that while emphasis on parental responsibility is not directly linked to PB, it is indirectly associated with higher PB scores through the mediation of endorsed parental pressure. The effect of responsibility's emphasis becomes detrimental only if the parent internalizes this pressure. These results suggest valuable clinical implications for preventing and treating parental burnout.

Keywords: endorsed pressure, sources of pressure, mediation, exhaustion, Gender