While burnout has been considered as a purely work-related disease until a few years ago, things are changing because excessive chronic stress "the putative cause of burnout" is not limited to work. Parenting has long been shown to be a both complex and stressful activity and important sociological changes in recent decades have further increased the pressure on parents. It has recently been confirmed that, just as enduring exposure to excessive job stress can lead to job burnout, enduring exposure to overwhelming parenting stress can lead to parental burnout. It has also been shown that these two forms of burnout are distinct entities. The Parental Burnout research lab uses varying research methods (qualitative and quantitative; cross-sectional and cross-lagged longitudinal; single cases and nationally representative samples; observational and intervention; self-reports, informant-reports and biological measures) in order to study:
- the assessment of parental burnout
- the antecedents of parental burnout
- the consequences of parental burnout (on the parents, their children and their spouse)
- the specificity of parental burnout vis-à-vis job burnout (in terms of antecedents and consequences)
- the treatment of parental burnout
- the cross-cultural variations in the prevalence and expression of parental burnout
Our fundamental research aims to deepen the understanding of parental burnout and to come up with a comprehensive model of the antecedents and consequences of parental burnout. Our applied research seeks to develop evidence-based interventions methods that can complement or replace therapy (when it is not an option), such as group interventions or remote interventions (via applications, web).
Products and services
Assessment of parental burnout
Parental Burnout Assessment
Parental Burnout Inventory
Assessment of risk and resources factors that play a role in the aetiology of parental burnout:
Balance between Risks and Resources (BR2) (available in two formats: for research purposes and for clinical puroposes)
Treatment for parental burnout
Manualized intervention aimed to improve the balance between parental risks and resources.