Applying relationship science to evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic may impact couples’ relationships.

Abstract

The coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has profoundly altered people's daily lives and created multiple societal challenges. One important challenge of this unique stressor is maintaining well-functioning intimate relationships, which are inextricably tied to emotional and physical health. Yet research on romantic relationships shows that external stressors such as economic hardship, demanding jobs, and disasters can threaten the quality and stability of couples' relationships. Research within relationship science investigating how external stressors and existing vulnerabilities shape couple functioning can inform predictions about how the current pandemic will impact couples' relationships and which couples in which contexts may be most at risk for adverse relationship consequences. Drawing on theory and research from relationship science, the presented conceptual framework, adapted from the vulnerability-stress-adaptation model (Karney & Bradbury, 1995), suggests that facing COVID-19-related external stress is likely to increase harmful dyadic processes (e.g., hostility, withdrawal, less responsive support), which will undermine couples' relationship quality. These harmful effects are likely to be exacerbated by the broader preexisting context in which couples' relationships are situated (e.g., social class, minority status, age), and their individual vulnerabilities (e.g., attachment insecurity, depression). The framework presented identifies the essential factors that need to be addressed in order to mitigate the potential adverse effects of the current crisis on relationships, and offers key directions for future research.

Changes in employment and relationship satisfaction in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from the German family Panel

“…Research has also shown that coping resources vary by social status (Conger et al 2010) and are a strong predictor of relationship satisfaction (Falconier et al 2015). Stressful events like an economic crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic can increase pre-existing problems within couples as more conflicts might arise and may even foster marital dissolution (Pietromonaco and Overall 2020;Prime et al 2020). From previous findings and stress theoretical implications, we, therefore, expect a decline of relationship satisfaction for persons who are particularly affected by COVID-19-related changes, especially by short-time work and home-office.…”

Decline in Marriage Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

“…Drawing on existing relationship models, scholars have suggested the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely threaten romantic relationships (Pietromonaco and Overall 2020). Documented relationship consequences of COVID-19 include increased relationship conflict (Luetke et al 2020), reduced sexual frequency (Lehmiller et al 2020), and high rates of contacting alternative sexual and romantic partners (Lehmiller et al 2020).…”

Regulatory Focus and Perceived Safety with Casual Partners: Implications for Perceived Risk and Casual Sex Intentions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Research has also shown disruptions in social connections, with people experiencing more loneliness, poorer relationship functioning, and decreased sex quality (e.g., Balzarini et al, 2020;Döring, 2020;Killgore et al, 2020;G. P. Lopes et al, 2020;Pietromonaco & Overall, 2020).…”