Is Parental Burnout Distinct From Job Burnout and Depressive Symptoms?

Abstract

Parenting can be difficult, and when difficulties are experienced as being chronic or overwhelming, parental burnout may occur. It is not yet clear, however, to what extent parental burnout can be distinguished from job burnout (which shares core definitional features) or depressive symptoms (which often co-occur with parental burnout). Here we present two studies (N = 3,482) that suggest the distinctiveness of parental burnout. First, items aimed at measuring parental burnout, job burnout, and depressive symptoms loaded on different factors. Second, although job burnout, parental burnout, and depressive symptoms had some common consequences (e.g., problematic alcohol use, disordered sleep, somatic complaints), parental and job burnout also each had specific consequences (e.g., parental neglect and parental violence for parental burnout; intent to leave the company for job burnout) that are not explained by depressive symptoms. These results support the distinctiveness of parental burnout and the added value of this construct.