Stressors, Psychological States, and Relationship Quality among East Malaysian Adults with Partners Amid the COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact not only on healthcare systems and economic threats but also on relationships. Due to the massive measures of the Movement Control Order, such as social distancing, strictly limited physical activities, and making adjustments to working from home—merged with the pandemic’s fear—romantic partners may face challenges that affect the quality of their relationships. The purpose of this study was to (i) identify stressors experienced by participants during the COVID-19 lockdown, (ii) evaluate participants’psychological well-being before and during the lockdown, and (iii) see if participants’ perceived relationship quality differed before and during the lockdown. An online self-report questionnaire was used to recruit 334 adults (58.1 percent female, 41.9 percent male) with partners (married = 304, engaged = 12, and in committed relationships = 17). Participants were asked about stressors they encountered as a result of COVID-19 using an open-ended question. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) were used to assess mental health, and the Perceived Relationship Quality Component (PRQC) Inventory was used to assess relationship quality. According to the findings, the top three common stressors reported by participants were financial problems, restricted movement, and fear of COVID-19 infection. Participants reported significantly higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression during the lockdown than before. The findings also revealed that participants’ relationship quality improved during the lockdown compared to before the lockdown. The current study contributes by providing information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and the quality of couples’ relationships during the pandemic.

Experiences and Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Thematic Analysis

“…Pandemic-related disruptions in social connections are well documented, including limited social contact, reduced access to social support, restricted in-person interactions, and COVID 2024, 4 changes to communication means and frequency [8]. These disruptions resulted in increased loneliness and adverse impacts on wellbeing [7,9,10]. Increases in extreme social disruptions, including domestic conflict and violence, were also reported [11].…”

“…The pandemic responses increased parental caregiving demand or responsibility while also reducing access to supports, thereby increasing strain and decreasing opportunity for reprieve [14]. Pandemic responses indirectly affected national and international economies as well as individual and family finances with decreasing or cessation of income, due to job loss, being high-risk if infected with COVID, or illness resulting from COVID infection [4,10]. Impacts on economies indirectly affected individuals through job instability and disruptions to supply chains and access to consumer goods [2,6].…”

Romantic partnership and perceived risk of separation during COVID-19 lockdown in the Dominican Republic

“…It is worth noting that these studies predominantly offered cross-sectional insights, while a singular longitudinal study revealed there were no changes in couple satisfaction over a one-year follow-up period (Galdiolo, et al, 2022). Notably, some reports surfaced regarding enhancements in relationship quality during lockdown measures, particularly in areas of commitment, trust, passion, love, and sexual intimacy (Mutang, et al, 2022), specifically for newlyweds (Williamson et al, 2021). These differences in results could be due to how the couple grappled with preexisting stressors, sociodemographic characteristics, and personal vulnerabilities (Overall et al, 2022;Pietromonaco & Overall, 2021).…”