Work–Family Conflict and Enrichment, Family Routines and Rituals Meaning, and Parental Burnout in UK and Vietnamese Families

Abstract

Limited research has examined how micro- and mesosystem-level family factors relate to parental burnout across cultural contexts. Using a cross-cultural design, this study explored the relationships and underlying mechanisms linking work–family conflict, work–family enrichment, family routine, and family ritual meaning to parental burnout. The sample consisted of 1373 parents from the United Kingdom and Vietnam (Mage = 37.90, SDage = 7.93 years; 77.7% mothers). We found that work–family conflict, work–family enrichment, family routines, and ritual meaning were significantly correlated with parental burnout, with similar patterns of association between the two countries. However, culture-specific differences emerged. After controlling for demographic variables, work–family conflict was the strongest predictor of parental burnout in the UK sample, whereas family routines played a more prominent role in the Vietnamese sample. These findings underscore the importance of cultural context in understanding parental burnout and offer insights for theoretical frameworks and clinical prevention and intervention.