Do Parents of Children With Neurogenic Bladder Experience Parenting Burnout?

Objective This study aimed to examine the association between work-family conflict and parenting burnout among parents of children with neurogenic bladder and to test the mediating roles of coparenting quality and psychological capital from a family nursing perspective. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 238 parents of children with neurogenic bladder recruited from tertiary hospitals in China. Parenting burnout, work-family conflict, coparenting quality, and psychological capital were assessed using validated questionnaires. Chain mediation analysis was performed using the Process macro with bootstrap sampling. Results A substantial proportion of parents reported elevated levels of parenting burnout (33.61%) and work-family conflict (84.03%). Work-family conflict was positively associated with parenting burnout (r = 0.447, p < .001) and negatively associated with coparenting quality (r = −0.398, p < .001) and psychological capital (r = −0.389, p < .001). Chain mediation analysis showed that work-family conflict significantly predicted parenting burnout both directly (β = 0.588, p < .001) and indirectly through coparenting quality and psychological capital (total indirect effect = 0.447, 95% CI 0.293, 0.628). The sequential mediation pathway was statistically significant (indirect effect = 0.056, 95% CI 0.018, 0.112). Conclusion Parents of children with neurogenic bladder may be vulnerable to parenting burnout, particularly in the context of high work-family conflict. Impaired coparenting quality and reduced psychological capital appear to play important mediating roles. Family-centered nursing interventions targeting both family processes and individual psychological resources may help mitigate burnout risk in this population.