Cognitive behavioral stress management for parents: Prevention and reduction of parental burnout

Agata Maria Urbanowicz; Rebecca Shankland; Jaynie Rance; Paul Bennett; Christophe Leys; Aurélie Gauchet

doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100365

Cognitive behavioral stress management for parents: Prevention and reduction of parental burnout

Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2023 Oct-Dec;23(4):100365. doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100365. Epub 2023 Mar 4.

Authors

Agata Maria Urbanowicz^{1

2}, Rebecca Shankland³, Jaynie Rance², Paul Bennett², Christophe Leys⁴, Aurélie Gauchet⁵

Affiliations

¹ Grenoble-Alpes University, 621 Avenue Centrale, 38400 Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France.
² Swansea University, Singleton Park, Sketty, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom.
³ University Lumieres Lyon 2, 86 Rue Pasteur, 69007 Lyon, France.
⁴ Université Libre de Bruxelles, Campus du Solbosch, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 501050 Bruxelles, Belgium.
⁵ Savoie Mont Blanc University, 27 rue Marcoz, 73011 Chambéry, France.

Abstract

Context: Parental burnout increases the risk of deleterious consequences on parents', couples', and children's physical and mental health.

Methods: The current study (N = 134) aimed to assess the effectiveness of a Cognitive Behavioural Stress Management (CBSM) group programme in terms of parental burnout reduction. In total 67 parents attended the 8-week CBSM intervention groups, and another 67 parents were assigned to the waiting-list control group. We compared the effectiveness of the CBSM intervention with a waiting-list control group directly after the end of the programme and at three-months follow-up.

Results: The results showed that compared to the control group the CBSM programme contributed to the reduction of parental burnout symptoms with statistically significant and small effect size. Moreover, the contrast analyses showed that the reduction in parental burnout severity was maintained at 3 month-follow-up. The reduction in parental burnout scores was mediated by the decrease in stress and the increase in unconditional self-kindness.

Conclusions: These results highlight the potential benefits of the CBSM programme for parental burnout prevention and reduction.

Keywords: CBSM; CBT; Intervention; Parental burnout; Parental stress.