Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
07:56

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Published on: September 19, 2019

Multilevel Impact of Parental Burnout on Mothers and Preschool Children

Carolina Panesso1,2, Matías Pizarro2, Carolina González-Silva1,2

  • 1School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile.

Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)
|May 11, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Parental burnout (PB) in mothers is linked to higher stress in children, evidenced by increased hair cortisol and behavioral issues. This study highlights the multilevel impact of parental burnout on child development.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Stress and Health

Background:

  • Parental burnout (PB) is a growing concern affecting maternal well-being and family dynamics.
  • Understanding the impact of PB on child development is crucial for early intervention and support.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between parental burnout (PB) and various child outcomes in Chilean mother-child dyads.
  • To investigate the relationship between maternal PB levels and children's biological (hair cortisol), behavioral (externalizing problems), and cognitive (inhibitory control) measures.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 73 Chilean mother-child dyads with children aged 3-5 years.
  • Participants were categorized into high, at-risk, and low parental burnout groups.
  • Statistical analyses adjusted for child age, sex, and maternal nationality, examining hair cortisol, inhibitory control, and externalizing problems.

Main Results:

  • Significant differences were found across PB groups for child hair cortisol and inhibitory control.
  • Children of mothers with high PB exhibited higher hair cortisol and poorer inhibitory control compared to the low PB group.
  • Mothers with higher PB levels also showed elevated hair cortisol, indicating a shared stress response.

Conclusions:

  • Parental burnout is significantly associated with adverse biological, behavioral, and cognitive outcomes in young children.
  • The findings underscore the importance of addressing maternal stress and burnout to promote healthy child development.
  • Interventions targeting parental well-being may have positive cascading effects on children's stress regulation and behavior.

Keywords:
behavioral problemscapillary cortisolearly childhoodexecutive functionparental burnoutpsychobiological risk

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