Work

Parental burnout and adolescents' self-esteem: A longitudinal study

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Parental burnout refers to a specific syndrome resulting from a chronic imbalance of parenting demands and resources. While previous studies have examined the negative effects of parental burnout on child and adolescent development, limited research has investigated its impact on self-esteem, a critical variable for success across many domains. This study aimed to examine the effects of parental burnout on adolescents' self-esteem, as well as the mediating roles of parental neglect and violence. The study adopted a longitudinal design, collecting data at three separate time points on primary caregivers' parental burnout, adolescents' perceptions of parental neglect and violence, and adolescents' self-esteem levels. Participants were students from a middle school in central China and their primary caregivers ( n = 118). Results from cross-lagged model revealed that parental burnout indirectly influenced adolescents' self-esteem through neglect (indirect effect = −0.03, SE = 0.02, p = .01). However, the mediating effect of violence was not significant. This study enriches research on the consequences of parental burnout and provides further evidence on how parental behavior shapes adolescents' self-esteem.

Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2026.101976

Authors: Wei Wang, Jia Luo, Moïra Mikolajczak, Yongxin Li

Institutions: Henan University, UCLouvain, KU Leuven

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,580