The Association Between Marital Satisfaction and Parental Burnout: A Moderated Mediation Model of Parents’ and Grandparents’ Coparenting

Parental burnout is a condition resulting from chronic stress related to one’s parental role. Based on current research advances, family functioning forms a crucial part of the antecedents that influence parental burnout. However, there is a paucity of literature on the mechanisms by which family functioning affects parental burnout and how the factors in family functioning interact and influence each other. The present study aimed to explore the potential indirect association between marital satisfaction and parental burnout through the mediating role of parents’ coparenting support. Furthermore, the study examined whether grandparents’ coparenting played a moderating role in the relationship between parents’ coparenting support and parental burnout. A total of 673 parents of preschool children completed questionnaires assessing marital satisfaction, parental burnout, and the quality of both parents’ and grandparents’ coparenting relationships. The results revealed that marital satisfaction was indirectly associated with parental burnout through parents’ coparenting support. Additionally, parents’ coparenting support interacted with grandparents’ coparenting conflicts in influencing parental burnout. This study highlights the significance of high satisfaction marriage relationships in alleviating parental burnout through parents’ coparenting support. Moreover, it underscores the importance of both parents’ and grandparents’ coparenting relationships in parental adjustment. These findings emphasize the role of coparenting in understanding parental burnout and suggest the potential application of family systems theory and risks and resources theory to explain and predict the effects of family functioning on parental burnout.