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.

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In Western countries, recent decades have witnessed a revolution toward gender equality. Inequalities have been greatly reduced in areas such as education or employment. Because inequalities lead to distress, this development has largely benefited women. One notable exception is the realm of parenting, which has remained rife with inequalities even in the most egalitarian countries. We hypothesized that experiencing inequality in parenting when one holds egalitarian values and raising a child in a country characterized by a high level of gender equality in other areas, increases mothers’ psychological distress in the specific area of parenting. Multilevel modeling analyses computed among 11,538 mothers from 40 countries confirmed this prediction: high egalitarian values at the individual level and high gender equality at the societal level are associated with higher burnout levels in mothers. The associations hold beyond differences in sociodemographic characteristics at the individual level and beyond economic disparities at the societal level. These findings show the importance of egalitarian values and gender equality and their paradoxical effect when inequalities are still present in specific areas as parenting. This study reveals the crucial need to act not only at the micro level but also at the macro level to promote gender equality in parenting and prevent parental burnout.

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Parental burnout is a unique and context-specific syndrome resulting from a chronic imbalance of risks over resources in the parenting domain. The current research aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) across Spanish-speaking countries with two consecutive studies. In Study 1, we analyzed the data through a bifactor model within an Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) on the pooled sample of participants (N = 1,979) obtaining good fit indices. We then attained measurement invariance across both gender and countries in a set of nested models with gradually increasing parameter constraints. Latent means comparisons across countries showed that among the participants’ countries, Chile had the highest parental burnout score, likewise, comparisons across gender evidenced that mothers displayed higher scores than fathers, as shown in previous studies. Reliability coefficients were high. In Study 2 (N = 1,171), we tested the relations between parental burnout and three specific consequences, i.e., escape and suicidal ideations, parental neglect, and parental violence toward one’s children. The medium to large associations found provided support for the PBA’s predictive validity. Overall, we concluded that the Spanish version of the PBA has good psychometric properties. The results support its relevance for the assessment of parental burnout among Spanish-speaking parents, offering new opportunities for cross-cultural research in the parenting domain.

Women's religious radicalization and the specific factors at play in this process remain largely understudied. Psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic traits constitute the Dark Tetrad of personality, which has been shown to be associated with several antisocial tendencies. Concretely, it has been found that the Dark Tetrad traits predict radicalized cognitions and behaviors in women. The aim of this study was (a) to extract homogeneous groups of participants using cluster analysis based on Dark tetrad traits and (b) to examine whether clusters based on Dark tetrad traits differed in both predictors (perceived discrimination and religious involvement) and consequences (radicalized cognitions and behaviors) of radicalization. Sample included 643 French college women who completed selfreport questionnaires. Psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic traits were moderately correlated. The cluster analysis resulted in four groups: a Low Traits group, a Moderate Machiavellian group, a Narcissistic group, and a group high on sadistic, psychopathic and Machiavellian traits (17% of the sample), which was characterized by the highest levels of radicalized cognitions and behaviors. This study suggests that a significant minority of non-clinical college women is characterized by the presence of high levels of Dark Tetrad traits and is at risk of religious radicalization.

Positive self-concept protects the person from the harm that stigma may cause on his well-being. It especially protects positive affect, which we propose is an important resource in the recovery process. These findings have clinical and research implications.