The coronavirus pandemic's socio-psychological paradox

Abstract

The multifaceted nature of the new socio-psychological stressors encountered during the period of isolation make this investigation necessary. The aim of this research is to discover the expression of the social factor and its effect on the level of children’s communication within the family. The coronavirus pandemic has forced much of the planet's population to go into self-isolation, which for the overwhelming majority means staying with their families, who are experiencing the same state of fear. In the coronavirus pandemic the modern, globalised world has gathered all three (biological, social, existential) in one. This results in a paradoxical psychosocial situation in which a person needs space in order to formulate new defensive mechanisms, yet has to share that space with family members. The external threat, the coronavirus pandemic, is complemented by the psychological threat posed by the family – a double threat which places at risk not only physical health, but also psychological state, which requires “ecology of communication”. The levels of social and psychological fear depend on freedom of movement, territorial limits, the ability to choose to communicate or not (“contact hygiene”), levels of trust within the family, types of interaction between all family members regardless of age, and the definition of personal space.