The Interplay Between Emotion Regulation, Parental Burnout, and Psychological Distress During War: A Longitudinal Study

Objective: This study examined whether emotion regulation (ER) strategies during wartime predicted levels of parental distress and burnout at T2, controlling for baseline levels. Background: Parenting under extreme stress, such as war, increases vulnerability to psychological distress and parental burnout. Although ER strategies like reappraisal, suppression, and rumination are known to influence stress responses, their longitudinal role in war contexts remains underexplored. Method: A longitudinal study was conducted with 261 Israeli Jewish parents (81% female) who completed self-report measures one month (T1) and seven months (T2) after the outbreak of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war. Measures included parental burnout, psychological distress, and ER strategies. Hierarchical regression analyses assessed whether ER at T1 predicted outcomes at T2, controlling for baseline symptoms, gender, and war exposure (e.g., personal injury or proximity to death/injury of others). Study design and hypotheses were pre-registered. Results: Psychological distress significantly declined over time, while parental burnout levels remained stable. Reappraisal at T1 predicted a decline in parental burnout at T2, and rumination predicted a smaller decline in psychological distress. Suppression did not significantly predict either outcome. Conclusion: Reappraisal may protect against prolonged parental burnout, whereas rumination hinders recovery from psychological distress. Implications: Targeting specific ER tendencies may enhance parental resilience during prolonged exposure to war-related stress.