Not All in the Same Boat. Socioeconomic Differences in Marital Stress and Satisfaction During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic is a global threat that affects a large part of the population, but the risks associated with it are higher for some people compared with others. Previous studies show that lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with more chronic stress and less marital satisfaction. Thus, the uncertainty caused by the pandemic might greatly affect those who were already vulnerable. This longitudinal study explores the extent to which stress originated outside (external) and inside (internal) the relationship is associated with marital satisfaction during the Covid-19 pandemic and whether the associations are different based on the socioeconomic status of the participants. The study was conducted at two points in time (first, immediately after the national lockdown was instituted; second, after the lockdown ended) with a sample of 144 married Romanian couples. We used the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model with Mediation and multi-group SEM analysis. Higher levels of external stress were associated with subsequent lower marital satisfaction for women with higher SES. For the couples with lower SES, men's level of internal stress during the first assessment mediated the relationship between their higher level of external stress at the first time point and their partner's lower marital satisfaction during the second assessment. Our results show that men and women respond differently during a crisis and that couples with lower SES are more prone to greater stress and lower levels of marital satisfaction. We finally suggest that the therapists, health professionals, policy makers, and researchers should take into account the existing vulnerabilities of a couple when offering psychological and health services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now for the Good News: Self-Perceived Positive Effects of the First Pandemic Wave on Romantic Relationships Outweigh the Negative

“…Although our participants’ experiences were on balance more positive than negative, our analysis also indicated that the perceived negative effects of the pandemic were slightly stronger for those experiencing more substantial effects of the pandemic overall (according to analyses in our Supplementary Material, primarily financial stressors). This finding of external stress spilling over into enhanced relationship difficulties is in line with both theory (Pietromonaco & Overall, 2020) and some early empirical research about the pandemic (Balzarini et al, 2020; Turliuc & Candel, 2021), as well as with existing empirical work in other areas (e.g., Neff & Karney, 2009).…”

“…Williamson (2020) found that neither an index of specific pandemic stressors experienced nor a more subjective assessment of the overall stress experienced due to the pandemic moderated participants' relationship satisfaction scores over time. Turliuc and Candel (2021) found that perceived external stressors due to the pandemic predicted marital satisfaction over time only for women high in socioeconomic status, not for any other group.…”

COVID-19 and Romantic Relationships

“…On the negative side, stress was related to lower relational satisfaction only for the women with higher socioeconomic status, but not for those with lower socioeconomic status or for men [38]. Negative emotions and relational turbulence increased from before the pandemic to during the pandemic due to a decrease in partner interdependence and an increase in spousal interference [39,40].…”

High level of perceived stress among essential workers during the COVID 19 lockdown in a Nigerian state

“…In addition, male essential workers services may have an assignment with longer hours during the COVID-19 lockdown compared to their female counterparts. Apportioning greater tasks and more strenuous, more stressful, and more laborious work to males is a cultural belief in Africa signifying as a sign of their strength over females (27).…”