Does Perceived Partner Support Have an Impact on Mothers’ Mental Health and Parental Burnout?

Abstract

This study examined the mental health of mothers, assessing the impact of the perceived availability of partner for social support on mothers’ symptoms of depression, anxiety, and parental burnout. 315 French-speaking mothers over the age of 18, with at least one child living regularly at home, completed an online set of questionnaires in a cross-sectional study. The mothers responded to the Maslach Burnout Inventory adapted to the parental context (MBI-Parental), the Social Support Questionnaire-6 (SSQ-6), and the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). ANOVA and ANCOVA revealed a significant association of perceived availability and satisfaction with the partner’s social support on the mothers’ psychological state. Single mothers reported lower levels of emotional exhaustion than mothers with a partner who was perceived as unavailable or moderately available. Mothers with a partner perceived as very available showed fewer symptoms of parental burnout, anxiety, and depression than mothers whose partner was perceived as moderately available. Perceived partner support has a significant statistical impact on mothers’ mental health and may be a protective factor against parental burnout, depression, and anxiety.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Perceived spousal support has a statistical impact on mothers’ mental health

• Poor perceived spousal availability contributes to parental burnout

• Satisfactory spousal support may protect against parental burnout

Keywords:

• parental burnout
• social support
• partner
• mother
• depression

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank all of the mothers who participated in the study. The website administrators who agreed to post the study announcement are also gratefully acknowledged for their support in recruiting participants. The authors also wish to kindly thank the English reviewer.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).