Second Wave Positive Psychology in the Prevention and Reduction of Parental Burnout: The CARE Intervention

Positive psychology interventions aim to enhance individuals’ resilience, mental health, and well-being. This study ( N = 34) aimed to assess whether the CARE (Coherence, Attention, Relationship, Engagement) intervention tailored to enhance parental strengths and resources may contribute to the prevention and reduction of parental burnout. We tested the hypothesis that, compared to a waiting-list control group, parents attending the intervention would present lower scores of parental burnout postintervention (T2). The results of the study showed that compared to the control group the CARE program contributed to the significant reduction of parental burnout within the intervention group, with a large effect size ( F(1, 32) = 7.74 , p = .01, η 2 p = 0.20). Within the CARE group, the severity of parental burnout significantly decreased ( t(32) = 3.87, M diff = 16.71, SE diff = 4.32, p = .01), whereas there was no statistically significant difference in parental burnout symptoms between T1 and T2 among the participants from the control group ( t(32) = −0.07, M diff = −0.29, SE diff = 4.32, p = 1.00). In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggest that the CARE intervention may significantly contribute to the reduction of parental burnout.