Perfectionism and Burnout in Parents of Visually Impaired Offspring: The Mediating Role of Parenting Conflict and Resilient Coping

Abstract

Introduction

Exhaustion due to parenting responsibilities, in parents who have children with visual impairments, is an issue that makes it necessary to pay attention to the corresponding risks of burnout, as well as the protective factors that can prevent such exhaustion in parents. This study aims to investigate the mediating roles of parenting conflict and resilient coping in the relationship between perfectionism and parental burnout in Iranian parents.

Methods

The study was conducted on 286 Iranian mothers (M_age= 43.15) and 207 fathers (M_age= 46.11). The selected individuals included parents who did not have children with visual impairments (35.5%) and those who had one or more children with visual impairments. They participated in an online survey with four measurement tools including the Brief Resilient Coping Scale, Parental Perfectionism Questionnaire, Parental Burnout Assessment, and Parent Problem Checklist.

Results

The results of structural equation modeling showed that the indirect effect of self-oriented perfectionism on parental burnout was significant through resilient coping and parenting conflict. Also, the gender of parents and the children's vision conditions do not play a moderating role in this model. In the examination of the role of demographic characteristics, the parents’ age and the number of caregivers emerged to be significantly associated with parental burnout in the parents of visually impaired offspring.

Discussion

For parents of visually impaired children, it is necessary to pay attention to the ways of promoting adaptation to caregiving problems, such as co-parenting and resilient coping strategies. In the meantime, the adaptive role of self-oriented perfectionism is significant for creating a sense of conscientiousness and internal motivation for more parental care.

Implications for Practitioners

Considering perfectionism in the context of culture, using the capacity for responsibility hidden in self-oriented perfectionism to reduce parental conflicts and increase resilience in dealing with parenting challenges can be effective during therapeutic interventions with burned-out parents.

Keywords

burnout conflicts perfectionism resilient coping visual impairment

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