When caregiving hurts : unpacking the violent consequences of parental burnout
(2025)
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AliceSchittekFinalThesis.pdf
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- Abstract
- Being a parent is not always easy. For some parents, stresses can exceed available resources. When this imbalance becomes chronic, it may lead to parental burnout. Parental burnout is a significant societal issue due to its prevalence, associated societal costs, and its wide-ranging consequences. In its most severe forms, parental burnout can increase the risk of violence towards children. Despite this impact on society and families, several questions about the condition remain unanswered, including: (i) To what extent does parental burnout predict violence compared to other predictors of violence? (ii) Are there risk or protective factors that moderate this relationship? (iii) Through which mechanisms does parental burnout lead to violence? (iv) Which violent behaviors are most strongly influenced by parental burnout? This thesis addresses these four questions across six chapters and shows that parental burnout is a specific predictor of violence that leads to cognitive complaints. This escalation toward violence is gradual and moderated by third factors, such as emotional intelligence and fearful attachment style. Finally, parental burnout has a specific behavioral footprint, in that it specifically increases psychological violence towards children. These results are discussed considering research and clinical perspectives.
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Citations
Schittek, A. (2025). When caregiving hurts : unpacking the violent consequences of parental burnout. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/257566