Between division and connection: a qualitative study of the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on social relationships in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Background: The first national COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom between March to July 2020 resulted in sudden and unprecedented disruptions to daily life. This study sought to understand the impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as social distancing and quarantine, on people’s lived experiences, focusing on social connections and relationships. Methods: Data were generated through 20 in-depth online and telephone interviews, conducted between May and July 2020, and analysed using thematic analysis informed by an ecological framework. Results: Findings show that the use of NPIs impacted social relationships and sociality at every level, disrupting participant’s sense of self; relationships with their partners, household members, neighbours, and communities; and polarising social and political views. However, experiences of personal meaning-making and reflection, and greater social connectedness, solidarity, and compassion – despite physical distance – were also common. Conclusions: Participant’s lived experiences of the first UK lockdown underscore the interconnectedness of relationships at the individual, community and societal level and point towards the important role of trust, social cohesion, and connectedness in coping with pandemic stress and adversity. Where infectious disease prevention measures rupture sociality, support for social connection at every relational level is likely to help build resilience in light of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Canadian Social Connections: A Thematic Analysis

“…Qualitative studies, that allow participants to describe the pandemic’s impact on social connections in their own words, would address this gap. Existing qualitative studies indicate that during the COVID-19 pandemic, significant disruptions to social connections occurred ( Schneiders et al, 2022 ), and individuals reported experiencing loneliness or isolation ( McKenna-Plumley et al, 2021 ; Vaterlaus et al, 2021 ) with adverse consequences on wellbeing for autistic populations ( Pellicano et al, 2022 ) and both positive and negative impacts of the shift to reliance on digital social connections ( Mikal et al, 2021 ). However, to our knowledge, no studies have yet conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of longitudinal Canadian participant-reported impacts or lived experiences of the pandemic on social connections and how these changed over time.…”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of instrumental help by older people across Europe

“…). So far, research on social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic focused mainly on the United States and Great Britain (e.g., Stokes and Patterson, 2020;Borkowska and Laurence, 2021;Lalot et al, 2021;Jaspal and Breakwell, 2022;Schneiders et al, 2022). Current research on social cohesion in Germany shed light on the mental health perspective (e.g., Silveira et al, 2022), while an Austrian study investigated solidarity and social trust during the COVID-19 pandemic (Bodi-Fernandez et al, 2022).…”

“…The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 introduced new challenges to social cohesion across Europe. On the one hand, people had the perception of a widespread willingness to help each other and saw “a lot of the best in humanity” during the lockdown time (Schneiders et al, 2022 : 7). But on the other hand, there was also a “fear of being in contact with other people […] and feelings of distrust, judgement and tension within […] communities” (Schneiders et al, 2022 : 7).…”

“…On the one hand, people had the perception of a widespread willingness to help each other and saw “a lot of the best in humanity” during the lockdown time (Schneiders et al, 2022 : 7). But on the other hand, there was also a “fear of being in contact with other people […] and feelings of distrust, judgement and tension within […] communities” (Schneiders et al, 2022 : 7). A British study found that despite the general perception that people were willing to help each other, taken together, there was a decline in helping each other compared to the pre-pandemic situation (Borkowska and Laurence, 2021 ).…”

“…Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have been analyzing the impact of the pandemic on social cohesion and solidarity (e.g., the research initiative “Solidarity in times of a pandemic: What do people do, and why?” 1 ). So far, research on social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic focused mainly on the United States and Great Britain (e.g., Stokes and Patterson, 2020 ; Borkowska and Laurence, 2021 ; Lalot et al, 2021 ; Jaspal and Breakwell, 2022 ; Schneiders et al, 2022 ). Current research on social cohesion in Germany shed light on the mental health perspective (e.g., Silveira et al, 2022 ), while an Austrian study investigated solidarity and social trust during the COVID-19 pandemic (Bodi-Fernandez et al, 2022 ).…”