“Spread too thin”: Parents' experiences of burnout during COVID‐19 in Australia

• Published date: 01 February 2023
• Author: Samira Wiemer,Larissa Clarkson
• Date: 01 February 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12773

RESEARCH

“Spread too thin”: Parents’experiences of burnout

during COVID-19 in Australia

Samira Wiemer | Larissa Clarkson

School of Psychology, Australian College of

Applied Psychology, Sydney, Australia

Correspondence

Samira Wiemer, Australian College of Applied

Psychology, 11/255 Elizabeth St., Sydney,

NSW, 2000, Australia.

Email: samira.wiemer@acap.edu.au

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to investigate parental burnout

(PB) within an Australian context during COVID-19.

Background: Little is known about how the increase in the

parental burden created by COVID-19 restrictions has

affected parents and whether this has resulted in increased PB.

Method: A mixed-methods approach examined PB in a sam-

ple of Australian parents (N=403) during COVID-19.

Regression analyses were conducted to identify predictors of

PB, and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA)

was used to compare PB scores to scores collected prior to

COVID-19. Thematic analysis was used to understand the

qualitative experience of parenting during lockdowns.

Results: PB scores obtained during COVID-19 were signif-

icantly higher than pre–COVID-19, and prevalence of PB

almost doubled. Age of the parent was the most significant

predictor of PB, although gender of the parent, average

age of children, and number of children were also predic-

tors on the PB subscales. Qualitatively, parents reported

increased stress and a loss of coping mechanisms during

lockdown, and this commonly led to negative outcomes.

Conclusion: Results suggest that parents struggled to cope

with the additional responsibilities and the reductions to

resources created by COVID-19 restrictions.

Implications: These findings support researchers globally

who call for interventions that support parents during

periods of COVID-19 restrictions.

KEYWORDS

COVID-19, exhaustion, lockdown, parental burnout, PBA, stay-at-home

orders

Author note: We would like to acknowledge and thank Isabelle Roskam and Carolyn MacCann for permission to use data they collected

prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to compare to our sample of parents during COVID-19 restrictions.

Received: 30 September 2021 Revised: 10 February 2022 Accepted: 18 June 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12773

© 2022 National Council on Family Relations.

40 Family Relations. 2023;72:40–59.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare

The COVID-19 pandemic reached Australia in January 2020. Shortly after, state and federal

governments began to enact various social distancing measures, called “stay-at-home orders”

(colloquially known as lockdown laws), with the intention of stopping the spread of the virus.

During this time, Australians were only able to leave their houses for brief periods of exercise,

to obtain medical care, or for essential goods and services. These measures had a dramatic

impact on the lives of most Australians. By April 2020, 1.8 million Australians were unem-

ployed or working reduced hours as a consequence of COVID-19 (Australian Bureau of Statis-

tics [ABS], 2021). Those still employed were requested to work from home where possible, and

most school-age children were required to undertake home-based online learning as a result of

school closures.

Although these measures had the intended effect of stopping the spread of COVID-19

within Australia, they had a severe impact on mental health. Globally, the pandemic has led to

increased depressive symptoms, greater stress, anxiety, anger, fear, and physical symptoms,

such as insomnia (Torales et al., 2020). Similarly, within Australia, COVID-19 restrictions have

been associated with impaired work and social functioning, which have led to elevated levels of

depression and anxiety (Dawel et al., 2020). Among adults, reports of mental distress have dou-

bled since the onset of COVID-19 (Butterworth, 2020; Fisher et al., 2020). Of particular con-

cern is the welfare of Australian parents. During the pandemic, the rate of parental mental

distress tripled to 24% from the pre-pandemic rate of just 8% (Broadway et al., 2020). Findings

from a longitudinal study suggest that these high levels of distress are brought on by lockdown

and social distancing measures (Johnson et al., 2021). Their study investigated parental stress

and symptoms of anxiety and depression in a sample of parents at two time points: during a

period of lockdown and 3 months after the discontinuation of these measures. Results showed

that levels of parental stress and symptoms of depression and anxiety significantly decreased

when the lockdown laws were removed, indicating that, for parents, the experience of lockdown

increased their susceptibility to stress and was harmful to their mental health. Furthermore,

research has shown that successfully balancing work and homeschooling may be beyond the

capabilities of many parents, leading to physical and mental exhaustion and negatively

impacting well-being (Johnson et al., 2020; Marchetti et al., 2020). Within Australia, in a survey

of over 7,000 families, 68% of parents reported that, while working, they almost always had to

simultaneously care for their children in some way (Hand et al., 2020). Parents reported that it

was a struggle that left them feeling worried and guilty. In addition, a recent qualitative study

examined the experiences of Australian families during a period of lockdown and social distanc-

ing and found that many parents expressed concerns for their mental health and that of their

children. Concerningly, parents reported increased depression and suicidal ideation during lock-

down restrictions (Evans et al., 2020). However, the adverse effects of restrictions were not uni-

versal, with some parents reporting benefits such as strengthened relationships and the

development of tolerance, appreciation, and gratitude.

Parental mental health is vital, as an individual family member’s stress impacts other mem-

bers through altered social interactions (Thomson & Vaux, 1986). For instance, parental stress

stemming from lockdown laws and social distancing measures has been found to impact the

quality of parents’interactions with their children, which then affected the children’s well-being

(Spinelli et al., 2020). In addition, research indicates that the sustained burden on parents cre-

ated by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a decrease in mental health, which was then linked

to a deterioration in child–parent closeness and an increase in conflict (Russell et al., 2020).

Similarly, it has been demonstrated that parent exhaustion has immediate detrimental effects

on the quality of parent–child relationships (Gillis & Roskam, 2019). Researchers argue for a

bidirectional relationship between parental stress and children’s behavior; exhausted and highly

distressed parents may be less available, accessible, and responsive to their children’s needs,

which leads to behavioral problems and, consequently, more stress for parents (Kerr

et al., 2021; Marchetti et al., 2020; Russell et al., 2020).

PARENTAL BURNOUT IN AUSTRALIAN PARENTS DURING COVID-19 41