Emotionally and Cognitively Drained: Longitudinal Associations Between Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Parental Burnout From Between- and Within-Person Perspectives

Emotion regulation has recently been suggested to predict parental burnout, a prevalent syndrome in parenting. However, a substantial theory-method gap exists, as most studies have relied on cross-sectional data and between-person analyses. In this study, we aimed to illuminate the longitudinal associations between two powerful cognitive emotion regulation strategies––cognitive reappraisal and rumination––and parental burnout from both between- and within-person perspectives. We hypothesized reciprocal relationships between the use of emotion regulation strategies and parental burnout. To fulfil our objectives, we conducted a 9-month three-wave panel study (September 2023 – May 2024) in a sample of 1,373 U.S. parents and analyzed the data with latent cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) and random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs). Our between-person (i.e., CLPM) analysis revealed a positive reciprocal relationship between interindividual rumination and parental burnout. Cognitive reappraisal negatively predicted parental burnout, but not vice versa. Our within-person (i.e., RI-CLPM) results showed that temporal changes in parents’ levels of parental burnout predicted subsequent changes in their use of both emotion regulation strategies, but not vice versa. These findings imply that the role of emotion regulation in parental burnout should be reconsidered. Early identification of parents at risk of emotion regulation difficulties and parental burnout is critical. Parenting programs that incorporate emotion regulation strategies, including those that are less reliant on cognitive processes, may be particularly beneficial. Future studies are encouraged to replicate our findings using more diverse samples that vary in parents’ age, cultural background, ethnicity, education, and socioeconomic status.