London: Stress is contagious! Children of
those parents who are worn out physically and emotionally at
their workplace are more likely to meet the same fate over
their schoolwork, researchers say.
Mothers and fathers with career burnout pass on their
feelings of disillusionment at home increasing probability of
their offspring losing interest in schoolwork, according to
the researchers from the Academy of Finland`s educational arm.
The team quizzed more than 500 teenagers and their
parents to know whether they have ever experienced burnt-out,
the European Journal of Developmental Psychology reported.
They found that children of parents who feel burnt-out at
offices, begin to worry that they are not keeping up with
their classmates, become cynical about the value of education
and exams and may even start to experience the exhaustion that
accompanies burn-out.
The researchers also observed that stressed dads tend to
have exhausted sons and working mothers under pressure had
school-age daughters in the same boat, the Daily Mail
reported.
Lead researcher Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro said:
"The parent of the same gender seems to serve as a role model
for the development of burn-out."
PTI
