Publication Date
2024
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Njue, Jane Rose
Degree Name
M.S. (Master of Science)
Legacy Department
School of Family and Consumer Sciences
Abstract
In recent years, research in family sciences has focused on the impact of stress on parents, leading to parental burnout risks. This study aimed to explore how adult attachment relates to parental burnout and if it moderates the link between parenting stress and burnout. Attachment theory suggests secure attachment can protect against parenting stress, while anxious and avoidant attachment may worsen its effects. In order to examine the effect of adult attachment in the development of parental burnout, parenting stress was measured using the Balance of Risks and Resources, parental attachment was measured using Experiences in Close Relationships (Revised), and burnout symptoms were measured using the Parental Burnout Assessment, developed in 2018. In order to accurately portray the effects of attachment, anxious attachment and avoidant attachment were measured and analyzed independently. Attachment anxiety was shown to increase the effect of parental stress on parents, and intensify the risk of developing parental burnout. By contrast, attachment avoidance did not show a significant effect on the way parenting stress predicts parental burnout, which contradicts what the literature asserts about the role attachment plays with stress. Demographic diversity, sample size, and recruitment method may have influenced the results of this study, and further investigation is needed to understand the role of attachment as it relates to parenting stress and parental burnout.
Recommended Citation
McCann, Janell, "Adult Attachment as Moderating Variable for Parental Burnout" (2024). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 7972.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/7972
Extent
95 pages
Language
en
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
