The role of parents’ basic psychological needs in parental burnout : quantitative and qualitative insights from spontaneous speech samples on parenthood

Abstract:Parental Burnout (PB) arises from enduring and overwhelming parenting stress and is characterized by an intense exhaustion in the parental role. This study aims to provide a better understanding of this condition by examining the role of parents' basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, relatedness, and competence), as defined in Self-Determination Theory, in PB. Whereas previous studies relied on questionnaires to examine associations between parents' need-based experiences and PB, the current study introduces an innovative methodological approach by coding parents' speech samples on parenthood, enabling both quantitative and qualitative analyses. A sample of 107 parents (94.4% mothers, mostly aged 30-39 years), including 56 parents applying for PB treatment and 51 parents in a control group, completed the Parental Burnout Assessment and were probed to talk for five minutes about their feelings and experiences as a parent. These speech samples were systematically coded in terms of the basic psychological needs, with coders being blind for participants' PB score or group membership. Quantitative findings showed that lower basic psychological need satisfaction was strongly associated with higher total PB scores, higher scores on each PB dimension, and membership to the group applying for PB treatment. Qualitative analyses illustrated a wide spectrum of need-based experiences, ranging from describing parenting as a duty, a lonely task, and a struggle with inefficacy, to an enrichment, a shared responsibility, and a successful learning process. The findings highlight the relevance of the basic psychological needs in the manifestation of PB, thereby deepening our understanding of this condition.

Publication year:2025

Accessibility:Embargoed