The Role of Intimate Partner Violence, Couple Dissatisfaction and Parenting Behaviors in Understanding Parental Burnout

Parental burnout (PB), a relatively new and under-studied construct, is defined as a condition resulting from chronic parenting stress. While recent research confirmed its negative associations with familial variables, such as relationship satisfaction and positive parenting practices, little is known about the role of intimate partner violence (IPV) and how it relates to parental burnout. The present study, therefore, aimed to extend existing knowledge on chronic parenting stress by 1) testing for the mediational role of couple dissatisfaction in explaining the link from IPV victimization to PB as well as the link from IPV victimization to dysfunctional parenting, and 2) investigating how specialist gender roles and parental responsibilities for child care relate to IPV victimization and PB. Data collection was part of an international collaboration on factors related to parental satisfaction and exhaustion across different countries. Self-report data from Austrian mothers (N = 121) were collected online and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that couple dissatisfaction mediates the link from IPV victimization to PB, as well as IPV victimization to dysfunctional parenting. Furthermore, only specialist gender roles were significantly related to IPV, while parental responsibilities for child care did not significantly relate to experiences of violence. Additionally, neither specialist gender roles nor parental responsibilities were significantly associated with PB in the final model. Overall, our findings connect to family models, such as the Family System Theory and Spillover Theory, underscoring the importance of couples’ relationship quality for understanding parental burnout and parenting behaviors in mothers.

Journey of Data Collection: My Experience Narrative of Working with Destitute Children Residing at Children’s Home

This article represents a narrative description of my data collection journey and the experience of working with children residing at Child Care Institution (CCI) like children’s home. It outlines my experience in a creative language and also draws attention to the challenges I faced, be it seeking permission from the concerned authorities or visiting the children’s home to actually working with the children. The procedures to access these children are quite lengthy and strenuous. Overall, this article highlights my experiences as a researcher, working with the children, the lessons I learnt and dealing with challenges imposed by COVID-19. In conclusion, through this experience article, I intend to make my fellow researchers aware of the procedures and challenges involved in dealing with this population, data collection process, which could benefit them to prepare accordingly, and to recommend to the caretakers and stakeholders the need for research in this area and promote activities to enhance mental health conditions.

Food Insecurity: Child Care Programs’ Perspectives

Background Households experiencing "food insecurity" have limited access to food due to a lack of money or resources. Poor nutrition, from food insecurity, can impact physical and cognitive development of children. Study objectives were to document the prevalence of Tennessee child care programs screening for food insecurity, explore differences between programs receiving child and adult care food program (CACFP) funding and those screening for food insecurity, and understand possible burdens food insecurity places on child care families as perceived by child care program directors. Methods In this cross-sectional study of licensed Tennessee child care programs, a 10-question survey and four-question follow-up survey were electronically distributed. Analysis included descriptive statistics, a chi-square of programs receiving CACFP funds and screening for food insecurity, and themes analysis of open-ended responses. Results The average child care program enrollment (N = 272) was 80.16 with programs serving mostly preschoolers (98.53%) and toddlers (91.91%). Over half (56.99%) of programs reported they received CACFP funding, yet only 9.19% screen for food insecurity. Chi-square analysis found that programs receiving CACFP funds differ significantly on whether they screen households for food insecurity $$\chi$$ χ 2 (1, n = 237) = 16.93, p ≤ 0.001. Themes analysis (n = 41) revealed that many child care program directors do not view food insecurity as a burden for families. Conclusions Child care programs receiving CACFP funds are more likely to screen families for food insecurity than programs who do not. Programs indicate a willingness to include food insecurity screening questions on child care paperwork.