Parental burnout and depression among Iranian mothers: The mediating role of Maladaptive Coping modes.

OBJECTIVE: Depression in mothers impacts children negatively. Understanding the antecedents and the underlying mechanisms of depression is essential in helping clinicians target depressive symptoms effectively. This study investigated the relationship between parental burnout and depression in mothers and examined the mediation role of Maladaptive Coping modes. METHOD: A total of 224 mothers participated in this study and completed the Parental Burnout Assessment scale, Patient Health Questionnaire, and items related to coping modes in Schema Mode Inventory. RESULTS: Data analysis with structural equation modeling revealed that depression and parental burnout were positively and significantly related. Bootstrap analysis showed that all coping modes except the Self-Aggrandizer mode act as mediators between parental burnout and depression in mothers. Detached Protector mode had the strongest indirect effect on depression. CONCLUSION: The results suggest Maladaptive Coping modes mediate the association between parental burnout and depression. The present finding provides evidence that Maladaptive Coping modes can be considered probable mediational mechanisms that relate depression to parental burnout in mothers and may serve as potential interventional targets.

Parental burnout and sleep problems in Iranian mothers of primary school-aged children: Exploring the mediation effect of emotional schemas.

OBJECTIVES: Sleep is crucial for mental well-being. Evidence suggests sleep problems in mothers can result from parental burnout. The possible mediators that link parental burnout to sleep problems have not been investigated. This study seeks to explore the mediational role of emotional schemas as psychological constructs, which relate parental burnout to sleep problems in mothers of school-aged children. METHOD: A total of 224 mothers participated voluntarily in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected online. The participants completed Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) scale, Mini Sleep Questionnaire-Persian Version (MSQ-P), and Leahy Emotional Schema Scale (LESS II). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed using the bootstrap method to assess the mediation model. RESULTS: The findings of this research indicate a positive correlation exists between parental burnout, emotional schemas, and insomnia/hypersomnia. The mediation analysis confirmed parental burnout and insomnia/ hypersomnia are related indirectly through emotional schemas. CONCLUSION: Implications of the findings is that when parental burnout is present, the psychological treatment of sleep problems may benefit from targeting emotional schemas. However, further research is needed to determine whether similar mediational effects are replicated.