The effect of parental burnout on child neglect

The effect of parental burnout on child neglect and violence Moïra Mikolajczak, Maria Elena Brianda & Isabelle Roskam University of Louvain, Belgium

Outline of the presentation - Does parental burnout exist? (can we really burn out solely from parenting? How does it differ from ordinary parenting stress) - (How) Is it different from job burnout and depression? - Why do some parents burn out and others don’t? - What are the consequences of parental burnout? (…that are not predicted by other diagnoses) - Can Parental Burnout be treated? (and how beneficial is this for the parents and their children? )

Stressors Resources

Job burnout

Stressors Resources

Parental burnout?

Does parental burnout exist?

Core symptoms of (job) burnout (Maslach & Jackson, 1984; Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, 2001) Exhaustion Depersonalization of the beneficiaries of one’s work/cynism Reduced professional accomplishement/ inefficacy Most widely used burnout measure: Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)

From job burnout to parental burnout Procaccini & Kiefaber, 1983 Pelsma, 1989 Norberg et al. , 20072014; Weiss, 2002; Bilgin & Gozum, 2009

Job burnout Parental burnout Depression

What does parental burnout feel like ? What are the symptoms?

Core symptoms of parental burnout (Roskam, Raes & Mikolajczak, 2017; Roskam, Brianda & Mikolajczak, 2018; Hubert & Aujoulat, 2018) Emotional exhaustion from one’s parental role Affective distancing from one’s children Loss of parental fulfillment and accomplishment

Emotional exhaustion from one’s parental role Affective distancing from one’s children Contrast! Loss of parental fulfillment and accomplishment

(How) Is parental burnout distinct from ordinary parenting stress?

Parental burnout is not only in the head… (Brianda, Roskam & Mikolajczak, submitted for publication) Hair cortisol in pg/hair 120 105. 12 100 Cohen’s d: . 58 P < 0. 001 80 60 46. 56 40 20 0 Control parents Burned-out parents

Parental burnout is not only in the head… Hair cortisol in pg/hair 120 105. 12 100 83 80 60 40 46. 56 33 20 0 Stressed students Control parents Burned-out parents Patients with severe chronic pain

How many parents are concerned?

3. 5 million US parents (2/3 mothers, 1/3 fathers)

What led these parents to burn out ?

What are the consequences of parental burnout?

Consequences of parental burnout* For the parent Irritabililty Guilt-Shame-selfhate Physical symptoms Alcohol use Suicidal ideations Family escape ideations * Mikolajczak et al, 2018, Child Abuse & Neglect; Sanchez-Rodriguez et al. , Journal of Affective Disorders; Hubert & Aujoulat, 2018, Frontiers Psychol

Consequences of parental burnout* * Mikolajczak For the parent For the children Irritabililty Guilt-Shame-selfhate Physical symptoms Addictive behaviors Suicidal ideations Family escape ideations Child neglect (affective needs, physical needs) Violence towards one’s children (verbal first, physical later) et al, 2018, Child Abuse & Negl; Mikolajczak, Gross & Roskam, 2019, Clinical Psych Science; Hubert & Aujoulat, 2018, Frontiers Psychol.

Consequences of parental burnout* For the parent For the children For the couple Irritabililty Guilt-Shame-selfhate Physical symptoms Addictive behaviors Suicidal ideations Family escape ideations Child neglect (affective needs, physical needs) Violence towards one’s children (verbal first, physical later) Distance Conflicts * Mikolajczak et al, 2018, Child Abuse & Neglect

Consequences for the couple • Elisabeth, mother of 2 children: "I was exasperated, yes, exasperated by my children who solicited me, solicited, solicited. And so, yes, I was exasperated, upset by this child who. . . who I could not stand anymore. . I was trying to manage, and then when my husband was arriving, I used to explode because I couldn't take it anymore and tried to unload myself on him rather than on the children. But then I was insulting him. . . it was really horrible. »

Specific consequences of parental burnout?

TIME 1 TIME 2 N = 974 working parents * Mikolajczak, Gross, Stinglhamber, Lindahl Norberg & Roskam, revision under review Clinical Psychological Science

Good news!

Help from social network Improved coparenting Improved childrearing practices Improved emotional competences Parental fullfillment Child with learning disorders High parental standards

Parental burnout symptoms Effectiveness of a 2 -month group intervention - 37%

Parental neglect - 31%

Parental violence - 31%

« At this point, it’s too late, one has burned out all one’s resources and energy. It’s all empty inside. Just empty. Mentally and physically empty! » (Violette, in Hubert & Aujoulat, 2018)

The end More material and free diagnosis tests on https: //www. burnoutparental. com/? lang=en