Parental burnout at different stages of parenthood: Links with temperament, Big Five traits, and parental identity

Abstract

The study aimed to analyze the links between traits from different levels of personality organization and parental burnout. To answer the research questions, a cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,471 parents aged 19 to 45 years (mean age 35.30, SD = 5.98). The results showed that the severity of parental burnout was linked to traits ranging from biologically determined temperament traits to basic personality traits to a sense of parental identity. More specifically, we found higher burnout among parents who have difficulty shifting between tasks and coping with strong stimulation, low emotional stability and conscientiousness, and low identification with the parental role. We also found that certain personality traits were more strongly associated with parental burnout among those who had children in early childhood or preschool period (under the age of seven) than those in later stages of parenthood. The study contributes knowledge about the personality correlates of parental burnout and the role of personality at different stages of parenthood.

A systematic review of parental burnout and related factors among parents

“…According to Table S 2 , the QATSDD evaluation found that twenty-two included studies were of medium quality in this systematic review, three [ 30 , 43 , 50 , 52 ] were low quality and one was high quality [ 43 ]. Scores from the QATSDD ranged from 40.5% to 83.3%, with a mean score of 62.17%.…”

“…The higher the monthly income, the lighter the sense of parental burnout [ 33 ]. Parental factors such as parental personality (neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness) [ 29 , 40 , 43 ], internalization of maternal parental motivation [ 28 ], unmitigated communion [ 30 ], self-compassion and concern for others [ 32 ], alexithymia [ 33 ], anxiety and depressive symptoms [ 34 ], parental perfectionism [ 37 , 47 ], resilience [ 39 ], low self-esteem and high need for control [ 48 ], mother's attachment style [ 52 ] had a significant relationship with parental burnout among parents with at least a child.…”

Processes and Statuses of Parental Identity at Different Stages of Parenthood

“…Studies based on the three-dimensional model revealed a positive correlation of commitment in the parenting domain with an overall sense of identity and life satisfaction (Piotrowski, 2018) and a negative correlation with anxiety and depressive symptoms (Meca et al, 2020). High reconsideration of commitment, on the other hand, was found to be associated with lower life satisfaction (Piotrowski, 2018), and higher parental burnout (Piotrowski et al, 2023), anxiety and severity of depressive symptoms (Meca et al, 2020). Concerning in-depth exploration, the results of the studies showed both its adaptive and maladaptive manifestations.…”

I should not have had a child: Development and validation of the Parenthood Regret Scale.

“…Future cross-culture/country studies should also answer the question of differences in terms of the severity of parenthood regret in countries where access to abortion is severely limited (as in Poland) or widely available (as in Belgium). It is also important for future studies to include more correlates of parenthood regret to better understand the role of personality and temperament, which influence a broad spectrum of parental experiences (K. Piotrowski, Bojanowska et al, 2023) and to examine the reciprocal relationships between parenthood regret and a parent's mental health (East et al, 2012). None of the studies to date have also assessed the relationship between parenthood regret and such child characteristics as physical and mental health or personality traits, which seems to be an important future research direction.…”