This study examined the influence of life event stress on family strength among single mothers raising children, focusing on the mediating role of parental burnout and the moderated mediating effect of social support. A nationwide survey was conducted...
This study examined the influence of life event stress on family strength among single mothers raising children, focusing on the mediating role of parental burnout and the moderated mediating effect of social support. A nationwide survey was conducted with 263 single mothers. The results are summarized as follows. First, significant correlations were found among life event stress, parental burnout, family strength, and social support. Second, parental burnout mediated the relationship between life event stress and family strength, indicating that higher levels of burnout were associated with lower family strength. Third, social support moderated the relationship between life event stress and parental burnout, weakening the positive effect of stress on burnout. Fourth, the moderating effect of social support on the relationship between life event stress and family strength was not supported. Fifth, the interaction between life event stress and social support significantly predicted parental burnout but not family strength. Sixth, subfactor analyses revealed that parental role stress, spousal loss stress, and child-rearing stress positively predicted parental burnout, while child-rearing stress negatively predicted family strength. These findings highlight parental burnout as a key mechanism linking life event stress and family strength and underscore the protective role of social support in interventions for single-mother families.