Changes in Family Life and Relationships during the COVID-19 Pandemic and their Associations with Perceived Stress

Abstract

This study explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed family life and relationships as well as how these changes affect perceived stress among married men and women. This study investigated changes in family time use, household work, child care, leisure activities, income and expenditures along with relationships between spouses and children using a sample of 627 married persons surveyed online from May 19 to 25, 2020. The results showed that the amount of time spent on household work, child care, and family leisure have increased and that the perceived burden of household work and child care has also increased. Gender differences were found in time use, household work, and child care. Leisure activities have changed toward more time watching TV or online media and playing online games and less time on outdoor activities, shopping, and meeting friends. About 38% of respondents reported a reduction in household income and 22% reported an increase in household debt. The majority experienced no change in the quality of relationships with spouses and children, approximately 20% of the sample reported a positive change in relationships with spouses and children. The findings of multivariate regression indicated that change in work time, negative change in household economy, negative change in household work and negative change in relationships with spouses were associated with marital stress. However, this study found that negative changes in child care and in relationships with children did not affect stress among married parents with children in elementary or secondary school.

Daily Life Changes and Life Satisfaction among Korean School-Aged Children in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This finding may seem inconsistent with many findings, suggesting an increase in negative parenting behaviors [ 15 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 26 ]. However, this is in line with a few findings [ 28 , 29 ], supporting the possibility that parenting styles may be considerably stable and not easily affected by temporary stressful events or changes in external circumstances. However, it is also possible that the during-COVID-19 sample in the current study was biased such that the sample more likely consisted of children having positive parent-child relationships than children from at-risk families, because children’s participation required parental consent.…”

“…First, parenting style may be considerably stable, as it is defined as the values and goals that parents have in socializing their children, the parenting practices they employ, and the attitudes they express toward their children [27]. Consistent with this possibility, some studies conducted in the United Kingdom and Korea found that most parents reported no change in parent-child relationship compared to the pre-COVID-19 period [28,29].…”

Children’s psychological well-being and problem behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: An online study during the lockdown period in Germany

“…The multitude of these conditions probably makes the situation particularly challenging for young children, which is hypothesized to lead to increased emotional and behavioral problems. First evidence during the COVID-19 pandemic supports this assumption [ 6 – 8 ].…”

Longitudinal Relations Between Parental Strain, Parent–Child Relationship Quality, and Child Well-Being During the Unfolding COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Importantly, the current study employed a longitudinal approach. Given that most research to date exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and families relied on cross-sectional designs [e.g., 2 , 4 , 5 ; for an exception see 6 ], little is known about the dynamic changes in the relations between child well-being and parental strain between different phases of the pandemic. Our study aimed to close this research gap.…”

“…That is, other than parental strain, which is directly affected by macrostructural changes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the parent–child relationship quality describes the general nature of the relationship prior to and less affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. First evidence seems to underscore this proposition as the majority of parents does not report a change in the parent–child relationship quality during the peak of the pandemic [ 5 ]. Likewise, parental self-efficacy can be conceptualized as parents’ general conviction of their child rearing competencies regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”