Parenting burnout in wartime : Exploring burnout in Ukrainian (grand-)mothers two years after the 2022 Russian invasion

Abstract

Armed conflicts have detrimental effects on family life of (grand)mothers and children. Two years after the Russian full-scale military invasion in 2022, we measured with an online survey burnout and medicine use of (grand)mothers (N = 415) in four types of families in Ukraine. Burnout was defined as exhaustion in the parental role, emotional distancing from the children, and feeling ineffective. The overall parenting burnout prevalence in Ukraine of 58% was substantially larger than burnout prevalences before the 2022 Russian invasion (11%) or worldwide (3%). Burnout was highest in grandmother-led households (70%). Higher parental burnout was related to more harsh parenting and mood-regulating medicine use signaling an acute need for policies for supporting families with young children in war-stricken Ukraine.