Experiences of meaningful connection in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This qualitative study explored the question, “What kinds of interactions did people experience as meaningful connections with others during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Unites States?” Eighty-eight participants completed an online survey, 3 to 7 weeks following the World Health Organization’s declaration of global pandemic. Participants completed open-ended questions about social interactions they experienced as meaningful connections with people of three levels of familiarity. Thematic analysis of participant responses identified four overarching themes: openness to the other, affirmation of the self, emotional uplift, and meeting of basic needs. A secondary research question explored, “In what ways did people perceive the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as affecting how meaningful connections were motivated, enacted, and experienced?” The context of the pandemic enhanced the meaning of social connection, offered a common struggle to connect over, and motivated prosociality. This study offers a descriptive window into the interactions experienced as meaningful connections in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic and may usefully inform future research and applied work promoting social connections in current and future collective crises.

Dynamics of Couple Relationships in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Preocupările legate de COVID-19 au crescut teama de a fi singur, ceea ce, la rândul său, a crescut importanţa stabilităţii şi a angajamentului familial (Alexopoulos et al, 2021). Totuşi, experimentând interacţiuni semnificative, conexiunile personale din primele zile ale pandemiei au creat un context pentru afirmarea sinelui şi a condus la o creştere a susţinerii emoţionale (Smallen, 2021).…”

COVID-19 and Romantic Relationships

“…COVID-19 concerns increased the fear of being single, which, in turn, increased the importance of stability and family commitment [43]. Still, experiencing meaningful interpersonal connections during the first days of the pandemic created a context for the affirmation of the self and led to an emotional uplift [44].…”