Abstract
Multiple determinants of parental burnout have been identified, among which two indexes of non-supportive coparenting play a central role: low endorsement of the partner’s parenting, and high exposure of the child to interparental conflicts. It is, however, unclear whether these coparenting dimensions play a role for both mothers and fathers, and if this role may be more important for parents who have a high interdependent self-construal. We surveyed a sample of upper-middle-class heterosexual parents living in a dual-earner family arrangement (152 mothers, 101 fathers) with 0- to 12-year-old children living at home. Parents answered questionnaires about burnout, sociodemographic variables, coparenting, self-construal independence and interdependence, and child-related variables. Generalized linear model analyses showed that (i) burnout is higher in mothers than in fathers; (ii) for fathers, burnout is associated with a higher exposure of the child to interparental conflicts; (iii) for mothers, it is associated with a younger age of the youngest child, a higher exposure of the child to interparental conflicts, a lower endorsement of the partner’s parenting, and a higher self-construal interdependence; and (iv) there is no moderation effect of interdependence on the link between the coparenting dimensions and burnout.
HIGHLIGHTS
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Burnout is higher in mothers than it is in fathers
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For fathers, burnout is linked with higher exposure of the child to interparental conflicts, an index of non-supportive coparenting
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For mothers, burnout is linked with a younger age of the youngest child and with two indexes of non-supportive coparenting: higher exposure of the child to interparental conflicts and lower endorsement of the partner’s parenting
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A high interdependent self-construal is related to burnout in mothers and does not moderate the links between non-supportive coparenting and burnout in either parent
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Specificities in the variables linked to burnout in mothers and in fathers should be taken into account when treating parental burnout
