Effects of parental burnout and psychological intrusion on adolescent resilience

Parental burnout is a parenting-specific syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, loss of fulfillment, and emotional distancing. Although its impact on externalizing outcomes such as neglect and hostility has been documented, less is known about its implications for adolescents’ internalizing difficulties. Drawing on dyadic reports from 2,236 Chinese parent–adolescent pairs, the present study tested whether parental burnout is associated with adolescents’ internalizing problems through psychologically controlling parenting, and whether adolescents’ psychological capital (PsyCap)—a higher-order construct encompassing hope, optimism, resilience, and efficacy—buffers these associations. Structural equation modeling indicated that parental burnout was positively related to adolescents’ internalizing symptoms and that this link was partially mediated by psychological control. Moreover, PsyCap significantly moderated the mediated pathway: the indirect effect of parental burnout via psychological control was weaker among adolescents with higher PsyCap. These findings highlight a dual-process perspective in which family-level stress increases risk while adolescent-level resources mitigate vulnerability. The study underscores the importance of promoting emotionally sustainable parenting and strengthening adolescents’ psychological resources through school-based interventions in high-stress family contexts.