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Maternal burnout dynamics: identifying most vulnerable groups

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2026

E. Polonetskaya and
E. Pervichko
E. Polonetskaya*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
E. Pervichko
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

While the first months of motherhood are traditionally considered to be the most challenging ones, it is essentially to scientifically research and understand the dynamics of the maternal burnous so the family members, the health professionals and the social services are warned accordingly.

Objectives

Our research was aimed at studying the association between maternal burnout and the age of the mother, as well as burnout dynamics during the first years of motherhood.

Methods

A maternal burnout questionnaire in Russian (the Maternal Burnout Assessment Tool, MBAT), being an adaptation of the Burnout Assessment Tool to the motherhood context, was used to assess burnout tendencies in mothers. The sample consisted of 792 Russian-speaking mothers with children up to seven years of age. Single-factor analysis of variance was used for data analysis (Kruskal-Wallis test).

Results

As shown in Table 1 below, our research demonstrates that the highest level of the mean emotional impairment score (being one of the burnout symptoms) is associated with the youngest group of mothers. No further associations of the mother’s age with the burnout symptoms were discovered.Table 1.

Mother’s ageYounger than 25From 25 to 30From 31 to 35From 36 to 40Older than 40p
Emotional impairment3.072.782.942.992.790.015
A data table showing emotional impairment scores across five maternal age groups with a p-value for statistical significance. See long description.

As shown in Table 2 below by the mean scores, our research demonstrates that burnout symptoms accumulate and strengthen over time.Table 2.

Child’s ageYounger than 6 monthsFrom 6 months to 1 yearFrom 1 year to 1 year and 6 monthsFrom 1 year and 6 months to 3 yearsFrom 3 years to 7 yearsp
Burnout2.512.532.272.772.77<.001
Exhaustion2.822.872.923.183.12<.001
Distancing1.981.932.072.212.180.007
Emotional impairment2.842.832.793.083.020.005
A data table comparing burnout, exhaustion, distancing, and emotional impairment scores across five age groups of children. See long description.

Conclusions

Based on the above, attention should be paid by the supporting caregivers and health professionals involved to the mothers mothers irrespective of their age and to mothers with children aged upwards of one and a half years as the most vulnerable group. Research on samples of mothers with schoolchildren and adult children is advisable.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Information

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 69 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 34th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2026, pp. S720
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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