The challenges to the psycho-physical health of Italian families in the period of the COVID-19 emergency: A pilot study on the impact of parental burnout in different professional categories

Objectives: to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemicon parenting in families with pediatric age childrenand examine how parental burnout can be influenced by the presence of one or more children with certified diagnosis of full-blown physical or psychological-psychiatric pathology. Methods: the sample consisted of 970 parents with pediatric age children who were administered a questionnaire on parental burnout. Results: mothers have a higher level of burnout. A significant main effect emerged with respect to the parents’ work: manual workers have higher burnout levels during quarantine. The presence of children with a certified diagnosis is a predictor of parental burnout. Conclusions: the primary pediatrician should care of potentially risky situations that undermine children mental and physical health, especially by supervising the decline of parental care both in families with cases of manifest pathology and in those in good health conditions.