A proposed model for the impact of parental fatigue on parenting adaptability and child development

Fatigue is a commonly reported problem for new parents. Considering that maternal fatigue is a risk factor for depression in the post-partum period, and that post-partum depression is associated with parent and child outcomes, it is important to investigate the relationship between fatigue, parenting, and child development. Further, given that research in areas other than parenting suggests that fatigue has a negative impact on performance via executive functioning, it is argued that parenting, being reliant on executive functioning, is likely to be disturbed by fatigue. Despite this, there is limited research investigating the relationship between fatigue, parenting, and child development. This paper applies the Optimal Parenting Development model to these constructs to propose a model for investigating the relationships between fatigue, parenting, child outcomes, and factors that may mediate these relationships.