The dynamics of Mothers Burnout in Arab Countries

Current research aims to explore the dynamics of mothers’ burnout (MB) in a sample of 1,208 mothers from Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq (age 18-68). This study employs a range of measures, including parent burnout, the International Trauma Questionnaire, attachment styles, working memory, inhibition deficits, cognitive flexibility, depression, anxiety, social support, resilience, and the Will to Exist/Live-Survive and Fight (WTELS-F) scale, as well as perfectionism, traditionalism, and collectivism. Statistical analyses, including correlations, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and the PROCESS macro, were conducted using SPSS (IBM, version 28) and AMOS (version 29). The research found that MB was negatively correlated with traditional culture and positively correlated with collectivism.. The strongest correlation observed was between MB and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) (r = .620, p < .000). Furthermore, the WTELS-F was identified as the most significant coping variable, showing a correlation of -.384 (p < .000) with MB. The SEM model fitted well (CFI=947, RMSEA=.066). The latent variable attachment insecurity was a major contributor to MB; both MB and attachment disorders predicted high CPTSD, depression, anxiety, externalizing disorders, and executive function deficits (working memory, inhibition deficits, cognitive flexibility). The results of the PROCESS macro concluded that four main variables: externalizing disorders, CPTSD, depression, and mental flexibility deficits, moderated by attachment ambivalent merger and attachment avoidant, are critical targets for intervention to prevent and treat mothers’ burnout. A fourth variable is poverty or high SES as a significant protective factor against mothers’ burnout. Current initial findings fill some gaps in understanding mothers’ burnout and the factors that need to be addressed in interventions and policies to prevent and treat mothers’ burnout.