Parental Burnout and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Empathy
Parental burnout refers to exhaustion caused by the parenting role. This devastating negative emotion can have repercussions for adolescent social development. Nevertheless, much remains unclear about the association between parental burnout and adolescent prosocial behavior and the potential mechan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/1/17 |
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| author | Qichen Wang Yue Lin Ziwen Teuber Fangmin Li Yanjie Su |
| author_facet | Qichen Wang Yue Lin Ziwen Teuber Fangmin Li Yanjie Su |
| author_sort | Qichen Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Parental burnout refers to exhaustion caused by the parenting role. This devastating negative emotion can have repercussions for adolescent social development. Nevertheless, much remains unclear about the association between parental burnout and adolescent prosocial behavior and the potential mechanisms underlying this relationship. Based on theoretical and empirical evidence, the current study examined the relationship between parental burnout and adolescent prosocial behavior by using a sequential mediation model that included both parental empathy and adolescent empathy as potential mediators. A total of 488 parent–adolescent dyads (for adolescents: 45.7% men, 54.3% women, <i>M</i><sub>age</sub> = 15.28 ± 1.67 years; for parents: 36.5% fathers, 63.5% mothers, <i>M</i><sub>age</sub> = 41.30 ± 3.79 years) completed questionnaires regarding demographics, social desirability, parental burnout, parental empathy, adolescent empathy, and adolescent prosocial behavior. After controlling for demographic covariates and social desirability, the results showed that parental burnout had a negative effect on adolescent-reported prosocial behavior through parental cognitive empathy and adolescent other-oriented empathy (adolescent cognitive empathy and empathic concern) sequentially. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of parental burnout as a family environmental factor detrimental to the positive functioning of adolescents through parental reactions to their children’s emotions and children’s own social competence. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:05:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-65a8e506a03f40e9959b96fdc312d48e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:05:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-65a8e506a03f40e9959b96fdc312d48e2024-01-26T15:05:43ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2023-12-011411710.3390/bs14010017Parental Burnout and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of EmpathyQichen Wang0Yue Lin1Ziwen Teuber2Fangmin Li3Yanjie Su4Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan, Haidian, Beijing 100871, ChinaBeijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan, Haidian, Beijing 100871, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, GermanyBeijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan, Haidian, Beijing 100871, ChinaBeijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan, Haidian, Beijing 100871, ChinaParental burnout refers to exhaustion caused by the parenting role. This devastating negative emotion can have repercussions for adolescent social development. Nevertheless, much remains unclear about the association between parental burnout and adolescent prosocial behavior and the potential mechanisms underlying this relationship. Based on theoretical and empirical evidence, the current study examined the relationship between parental burnout and adolescent prosocial behavior by using a sequential mediation model that included both parental empathy and adolescent empathy as potential mediators. A total of 488 parent–adolescent dyads (for adolescents: 45.7% men, 54.3% women, <i>M</i><sub>age</sub> = 15.28 ± 1.67 years; for parents: 36.5% fathers, 63.5% mothers, <i>M</i><sub>age</sub> = 41.30 ± 3.79 years) completed questionnaires regarding demographics, social desirability, parental burnout, parental empathy, adolescent empathy, and adolescent prosocial behavior. After controlling for demographic covariates and social desirability, the results showed that parental burnout had a negative effect on adolescent-reported prosocial behavior through parental cognitive empathy and adolescent other-oriented empathy (adolescent cognitive empathy and empathic concern) sequentially. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of parental burnout as a family environmental factor detrimental to the positive functioning of adolescents through parental reactions to their children’s emotions and children’s own social competence.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/1/17adolescentsparental burnoutprosocial behaviorempathyparent–children interactionsequential mediation |
| spellingShingle | Qichen Wang Yue Lin Ziwen Teuber Fangmin Li Yanjie Su Parental Burnout and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Empathy Behavioral Sciences adolescents parental burnout prosocial behavior empathy parent–children interaction sequential mediation |
| title | Parental Burnout and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Empathy |
| title_full | Parental Burnout and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Empathy |
| title_fullStr | Parental Burnout and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Empathy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Parental Burnout and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Empathy |
| title_short | Parental Burnout and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Empathy |
| title_sort | parental burnout and prosocial behavior among chinese adolescents the role of empathy |
| topic | adolescents parental burnout prosocial behavior empathy parent–children interaction sequential mediation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/1/17 |
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