Parental burnout among parents of adolescents with depressive disorders: an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the level of parental burnout and its associated factors among parents of adolescents with depressive disorders and to use qualitative interviews to further explain their caregiving experiences and psychological adjustment processes. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used. In the quantitative phase, 253 parents of adolescents with depressive disorders were assessed using the Parental Burnout Assessment, the Parental Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire, the Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-16. Data were analysed using correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple linear regression. In the qualitative phase, 13 parents were selected through purposive sampling and participated in semi-structured interviews. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis, and quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated using a joint display. The mean total parental burnout score was 60.60 ± 22.67. Correlation analysis showed that parental burnout was negatively correlated with parental psychological flexibility and self-compassion and positively correlated with difficulties in emotion regulation. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that, after controlling for demographic and clinical variables, parental psychological flexibility and self-compassion remained significantly associated with parental burnout. Difficulties in emotion regulation showed a positive association with parental burnout, but did not reach statistical significance. The final model explained 54.4% of the variance in parental burnout (adjusted R² = 0.519). The qualitative findings further illustrated caregiving experiences characterised by continuous vigilance, responsibility-bound caregiving, self-blame-related inner depletion, and function-oriented emotional coping. This study suggests that parental burnout among parents of adolescents with depressive disorders may be related to illness-related caregiving demands, family resource conditions, and parental psychological adjustment processes. Future services may consider incorporating psychological support and resource linkage for parents alongside adolescent symptom management. These potential intervention directions require further evaluation in longitudinal and intervention studies.