PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS OF WOMEN'S PARENTAL BURNOUT

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to present results of the study of psychological factors of women`s parental burnout (PB), in particular it`s connection with features of parental attitude and nature of the family system. The study surveyed 120 women who had at least one (47.2%), two (37%) and three (11%) minor children living with them permanently. The age of mothers ranges from 18 to 48 years, and the age of children from 2 months to 17 years. The study of PB was performed using the following methods: Parental Burnout Assessment (M.Mikolajczak, I.Roskam), FACES 3 (D.Olson), Parental Attitudes Questionnaire (A. Varga, V. Stolin), Beck Depression Inventory (A.Beck), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (M.Rosenberg). The survey was conducted using the open platform Google Forms, where the questionnaire was posted. The link was distributed via the Internet, including the social network Facebook, between April, 7 and November, 1, 2021. The results of statistical analyzes showed that the number of women with the syndrome does not exceed 10%, ie the total number of Ukrainian women with burnout is twice as high as in Europe and the United States (Roskam et al., 2018). 24% have an average level, almost 12% of respondents have a low level and more than 56% of surveyed women are characterized by a lack of PB. It is statistically established that there are significant links between parental burnout among women and the features of parental attitude towards the child, in particular, the dimensions of parental attitudes such as "symbiosis" and "infantilization" were found to be significant predictors of burnout according to regression analysis. The merger of mother and child, the absence of psychological boundaries and the promotion of infantilization of the child are defined as the factors of family upbringing, which are predictors of parental burnout of women. The results also show that the closer the relationship between family members, the lower the burnout level, as a woman in such a family receives much more support, help and understanding. The age of the mother does not play a significant role in the formation of the syndrome, but the younger the child, the higher the level of burn out in the mother, which corresponds to the results of similar cross-cultural studies (Roskam et al., 2021).