The project “Understanding Parental Burnout: Cultural Values, Family and Individual Processes in Parents (uPBeaT)”, by FPCEUP Researcher and Professor Marisa Matias, was one of the 17 winners of the last Social Observatory Competition of the “La Caixa” Foundation (SRC 2024 ).
With funding of 115,000 euros and an expected execution of 24 months, uPBeaT aims to study the mechanisms that determine how values and other factors influence beliefs and behaviors that tend to increase the risk of Parental Burnout.
The transition from occasional tiredness to a state of permanent exhaustion in parents has been the subject of several studies in the last decade. “The prevalence of Parental Burnout”, explains Marisa Matias, “varies greatly from country to country, with a clear link to cultural factors, such as individualism. But, in each country, it is possible to find different characteristics of the ideal parental model. We need to deepen our knowledge in this field of research; establish moderators and mediators and their role in the relationship between cultural values, Parental Burnout and its consequences”.
uPBeaT also intends to develop concrete applications of the research results in the development of public policies to support parenting.
In addition to this project, Parental Burnout will be at the center of an international conference dedicated to the topic, taking place on the 5th and 6th of September at FPCEUP, in a joint initiative between the house’s two research centers, CPUP and CIIE.
