Feminism Harms Mothers. A 32-Nation Study of Parental Burnout

In every culture, mothers are the main caregiver, and no one can match their extraordinary devotion to children. Child rearing still remains the biggest job in a woman’s life even in egalitarian societies which encourage parents to share parenting duties. Despite the raise of feminist thought in favor of women’s equity, traditional gender roles in family persist. This contradictory situation may be a source of distress for mothers who expect to share but assume the main parenting responsibilities alone. The aim of the study is to test the relations between parental involvement in duties, egalitarian values promoted either by the mothers or by their society in which they raise their children, and parental burnout across nations. Data were collected in a sample of 13,868 parents from 32 nations. This quantitative study assesses the level of parental involvement in duties, egalitarian values, and parental burnout through self- reported questionnaires. We found that mothers have a higher level of involvement in parental duties, more egalitarian values, and a higher level of parental burnout than fathers across nations. Moreover, mothers reported a higher risk of parental burnout when they are highly involved in parental duties, have more egalitarian values toward gender roles and take care of children in a society that promotes a gender-equal policy. In conclusion, overinvolvement in parental duties hurts egalitarian mothers. The results are discussed in terms of psychological and societal intervention.