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Parental Burnout and Adolescents' Growth Mindset: An Exploratory Two-Wave Study
Dayu Zhao1, Jia Luo1, Jianqiang Wang1
1Institute of Psychology and Behaviour, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 28, 2026
Summary
Parental burnout can lead to neglect, which in turn negatively impacts adolescents' growth mindset. This study highlights neglect as a key pathway linking parental burnout to reduced adolescent growth mindset.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Parenting stress is increasing due to societal changes.
- Parental burnout can arise from insufficient coping resources.
- Parental burnout may negatively affect adolescent development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the indirect pathways linking parental burnout to adolescents' growth mindset.
- To examine the roles of parental neglect and parental violence in this relationship.
- To explore the association between parental burnout and adolescent growth mindset using dyadic data.
Main Methods:
- A semi-longitudinal design with two waves of data collected one month apart.
- Survey data collected from 382 middle-school students and their parents in Central China.
- Cross-lagged panel modeling (CLPM) was used to analyze the data, with model modifications based on fit indices and theory.
Main Results:
- Parental burnout at Time 1 was positively associated with parental neglect at Time 2.
- Parental neglect at Time 1 was negatively associated with adolescents' growth mindset at Time 2.
- Parental neglect mediated the relationship between parental burnout and adolescent growth mindset (indirect effect = -0.02).
Conclusions:
- Parental neglect serves as a significant linking pathway between parental burnout and lower adolescent growth mindset.
- These findings suggest interventions targeting parental burnout and neglect may benefit adolescent development.
- The study provides preliminary evidence for the indirect effect of parental burnout on adolescent growth mindset via neglect.
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