From Perfectionistic Concerns to Parental Burnout via Parenting Stress: Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Models in Couples Raising a Child on the Autism Spectrum.

PURPOSE: Parents of children on the autism spectrum face elevated parenting stress and an increased risk of parental burnout. This study examined the role of parental perfectionistic concerns, a well-established risk factor in the general population that has not yet been studied among parents of children on the autism spectrum, while also considering cumulative risk in experiences of parenting stress and subsequent parental burnout. Moving beyond a focus on parents' individual experiences, we investigated dyadic processes using Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Models (APIMeM), with parenting stress as an intervening variable linking perfectionistic concerns and cumulative risk to parental burnout. METHODS: The sample comprised 136 mother-father dyads raising a child on the autism spectrum (73% boys, Mage = 12.2 years). Each parent reported on their own and their partners' perfectionistic concerns, parenting stress, and parental burnout, alongside a variety of risks they are exposed to. RESULTS: An APIMeM with self-reports and an APIMeM with partner-reports revealed significant actor effects: mothers' and fathers' perfectionistic concerns were positively associated with their own parenting stress and parental burnout, even when taking into account the significant actor effects of cumulative risk. No partner effects emerged for perfectionistic concerns. Cumulative risk did display partner effects, with one parent's cumulative risk relating to their partner's parenting stress and subsequent parental burnout. CONCLUSION: The findings underscore the importance of addressing perfectionistic concerns in both mothers and fathers, as well as attending to the dyadic processes between partners, to mitigate parental burnout in families raising children on the autism spectrum.