Friends & Families
The findings reported below appeared in The European Journal of Developmental Psychology.
The research, conducted in Finland, used measurement tools developed by the team to assess burnout in parents and their ninth-graders, this story says.
Burnout was measured in the following ways:
1. Feeling “exhausted and overwhelmed” by work and school requirements.
2. “Feeling cynical” about work and school.
3. Feeling “inadequate and powerless.”
If you are experiencing these feelings, they will affect your performance sooner or later. Talk with your doctor about the effects. Sleeping poorly? Eating differently? How is feeling “inadequate and powerless” affecting you?
This is not something to ignore.
Yes, there are good reasons for feeling challenged by requirements in today’s economic environment.
No, everyone does not feel the way those who report burnout do. Spare yourself some misery if you suffer from it by taking steps to get healthier.
Burnout, this study says, runs in families. The family coping style can be changed if the parents choose to do that.
Daily walks are free. Research shows these have powerful benefits on mood and overall health.
“Parents who complain of feeling burned out at work are more likely to have kids who are burned out at school.”
…”When the researchers assessed the level of burnout experienced by both parents and students, they found several factors — including the size of the daily workload as well as financial stress — were primarily responsible for the level of burnout adults and teens were feeling at work and school. However, they also showed that burnout runs in families. There was a particularly strong association between work burnout in mothers and school burnout in their teen daughters.” (Emphasis added)
“Given the current economic recession, burnout in families may become a larger problem. The study found that family finances predicted a higher level of shared burnout among parents and teens. ”
Source: New York Times, January 27, 2010
Citation: The European Journal of Developmental Psychology, No abstract available, Vol. 7, 2010
Topics: Friends & Families
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