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Parent Personality, Child Neglect, and Violence in Relation to Competence and Burnout*

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Abstract

Modern parenting is characterized by numerous changes which make the parental role not only fulfilling but also very demanding and stressful. In the process of adjustment to the parental role, some personality characteristics of parents can function as protective or risk factors for subjective parental adjustment (parental burnout and competence) and for parental behavior. Therefore, the aim of this research was to test the mediating role of parental burnout and competence in the relationship between personality characteristics of parents (neuroticism and tendency towards parenting perfectionism) and parental neglect of children and violence towards children, while controlling for some sociodemographic variables. A total of 1025 parents from Croatia (90% mothers) participated in the research. Using SEM, two competing models (“i.e.,”, partial vs. full mediation) were tested. The obtained results clearly indicated better fit of the partial mediation model to the data. It was determined that parental burnout and competence had a partial mediating role in the relationship between personality characteristics of parents and their tendency towards child neglect and violence. Higher levels of neuroticism and parenting perfectionistic concerns contribute to increased parental burnout. Furthermore, a higher level of parental burnout contributes to a higher level of parent reported violence and neglect towards the child. Also, parents who are more emotionally stable and have higher standards regarding oneself as parent (self-oriented parenting perfectionism) and a lower tendency to be self-critical in one’s parenting role (perfectionistic concerns), with greater perceived parental competence, are less susceptible to being violent against their children.

Highlights

  • Some parents can experience feelings of burnout in the parental role due to reinforced parental demands.

  • This research points to the constructs of parental burnout and competence as determinants of (in)adequate parental behavior.

  • Higher levels of neuroticism and parenting perfectionistic concerns contribute to increased parental burnout.

  • Findings suggest that perfectionism concerns over mistakes can harm children by increasing parental neglect and violence towards children.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Zadar, Obala kralja Petra Krešimira IV, br. 2, 23000, Zadar, Croatia

    Ivana Macuka & Ana Šimunić

  2. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split, University of Split, Poljička cesta 35, 21000, Split, Croatia

    Ina Reić Ercegovac

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  1. Ivana Macuka
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  2. Ina Reić Ercegovac
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Correspondence to Ivana Macuka.

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*This research was supported by the institutional research project of the University of Zadar Parenting Today: Experiences and Challenges (IP.01.2021.10)

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Macuka, I., Ercegovac, I.R. & Šimunić, A. Parent Personality, Child Neglect, and Violence in Relation to Competence and Burnout*. J Child Fam Stud 33, 954–967 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02780-0

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