The Relationship of Personality and Social Media Usage to Burnout among Parents of Children with Disabilities

Research has demonstrated a link between some personality traits and parental burnout; however, the impact of intervening variables, such as social media usage, has received less attention. Here, the influence of social media usage and social comparison orientation on the relationship between neuroticism and parental burnout as well as self-critical perfectionism and parental burnout were examined. To do so, 158 parents of children with disabilities who were 18 years of age or younger responded to a series of questionnaires assessing parental burnout, neuroticism, perfectionism, social media usage, and social comparison orientation. As expected, neuroticism and self-critical perfectionism were significant predictors of parental burnout. However, contrary to expectations, social media usage did not mediate the relationship between personality characteristics and parental burnout nor was social comparison orientation a significant explanatory variable. Gender was a significant moderator of the relationship between neuroticism and parental burnout with the linkage between these variables stronger for fathers than for mothers. Future research should continue the exploration of the role of personality traits in contributing to parental burnout. It should also employ the use of longitudinal and cohort sequential designs that are sensitive to changes in parental functioning such as parental burnout that may occur as children and parents age and progress through various life stages. Professionals working with parents of children with disabilities may want to assist them with developing more effective coping styles and modifying negative personality traits through evidence-based therapies.