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Daily Exhaustion and Support in Parenting: Impact on the Quality of the Parent–Child Relationship

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Abstract

Objective

The current study aimed to analyze the effect of parenting-related exhaustion on the quality of the parent–child relationship and to explore the moderating role of partner parental support within this association.

Method

The method was based on longitudinal data collection and a multi-informant design in which 157 mothers and 157 fathers completed questionnaires once a day during one week. Our statistical model used structural equation modeling.

Results

Analyses revealed that parenting-related exhaustion had a negative impact on the quality of the parent–child relationship both for mothers (β = −0.17, p < 0.05) and fathers (β = −0.22, p < 0.05). Our results also provide evidence that partner parental support plays a role in compensating for deleterious consequences of parenting-related exhaustion among mothers as long as such exhaustion remains at a low level (β = −0.26, p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Our results provide support for ongoing research into this topic in relation to both mothers and fathers not only in clinically-referred families but also in ordinary ones, to allow preventive measures to be developed and implemented.

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Funding

The authors received financial support for the research from the Fonds Spécial de Recherche at the UCLouvain in Belgium.

Author Contributions

A.G. and I.R. designed the study, A.G. executed the study, assisted with the data analyses, and wrote the paper. I.R. collaborated with the data analyses and writing of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, 10 Place du Cardinal Mercier, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Aurélie Gillis & Isabelle Roskam

Authors
  1. Aurélie Gillis
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  2. Isabelle Roskam
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Correspondence to Aurélie Gillis.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee of the Psychological Sciences Research Institute at the UCLouvain in Belgium. Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

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Gillis, A., Roskam, I. Daily Exhaustion and Support in Parenting: Impact on the Quality of the Parent–Child Relationship. J Child Fam Stud 28, 2007–2016 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01428-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01428-2

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