PARENTAL BURNOUT PHENOMENON AS A SUBJECT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLORATION

Abstract

The article exposes the phenomenon of parental burnout, which is insufficiently studied in national science. The phenomenon of emotional burnout is usually studied in regards to work, especially in service occupations (“helping professions”). Nonetheless, it is found that burnout can develop in other domains, including parenting. Even though parenting is not considered a professional occupation, society’s demands towards parents and their responsibilities are incredibly high and are growing every day. Parents are not prepared for many of them. People’s deteriorating living standards, lack of political and economic stability, and the newly a newly emerged challenge of a global pandemic all cause excessive and prolonged stress in parents that may lead to parental burnout. The aim of the study is to present a theoretical analysis on parental burnout phenomenon and also substantiate importance of an exploration of the parental burnout in Ukraine.To achieve the aim of the study, the article presents a review of foreign studies on parental burnout, its particularities, antecedents, and its effect on the family’s personal and interpersonal relationships. According to the foreign studies, parental burnout is a unique and context-specific syndrome in mothers and fathers that occurs under the influence of prolonged stress caused by parenting. The phenomenon of parental burnout encompasses three dimensions: excessive exhaustion from the parental role, emotional distancing from the child and a sense of inefficiency in performing their parental role. The material presented below describes the specifics and differences of this phenomenon and professional and family burnout. The article covers and analyzes foreign research on the history of the phenomenon of parental burnout, the antecedents that have a greater and lesser impact on its development (internal and external) and the consequences of parental burnout on a personal and interpersonal levels (especially the impact on the relationship with a child, which may manifest through violence, indifference or neglect). Also, there is an overview of the pilot study results of possible antecedents of parental burnout in Ukrainian parents at the macro-, meso- and micro- levels, emphasized the need and worthwhileness of studying the phenomenon of parental burnout in Ukrainian society.

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