Day-to-day relational life during the COVID-19 pandemic: Linking mental health, daily relational experiences, and end-of-day outlook

Abstract

This study aimed to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic alters day-to-day relational experiences and how daily relational experiences shape outlook on the pandemic. Data were collected from university students in the U.S. using smartphone-based experience sampling and nightly diary surveys over a 10-day period beginning in April 2020. To address the first objective, we examined how pandemic-related anxiety and depressive symptoms manifested in three aspects of daily relational life: (a) perceptions of loneliness, (b) relational difficulty, and (c) communication quality. To address the second objective, we investigated how daily relational experiences were linked to their end-of-day outlook of the pandemic in terms of pessimism versus optimism regarding COVID-19 and general sense of hope. Over the 10-day study period, COVID-19-related anxiety was found to be uniquely associated with greater loneliness, desire for interaction when alone, interpersonal conflict, and distraction during communication episodes. In addition, results showed that relational experiences throughout the day, including loneliness, challenges maintaining relationships, and communication quality, were linked to end-of-day COVID-19 optimism and state hope. Overall, this study identifies potential ways in which young adults’ relational lives were altered during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. Results also suggest how relational experiences factor into daily social constructions of the pandemic.

The effects of social interactions on momentary stress and mood during COVID-19 lockdowns

“…This finding supports studies showing that increased social contact during COVID-19 lockdown was associated with greater psychological well-being 8,9 . It also fits with EMA studies, conducted before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing that social interactions can enhance momentary positive affect 11 and result in greater optimism about the COVID-19 pandemic 29 . Our results cannot simply be explained by time of day, or the activity participants were engaged in during the time of the data entry (e.g., work or free time) as we controlled for these factors in all analyses.…”

A descriptive literature review of early research on COVID-19 and close relationships

“…In one study conducted over a 10-day period where college students recorded their daily relational experiences, amount of daily conflict was positively related to COVID-19-related anxiety and inversely related to end-of-day optimism ( Merolla et al, 2021 ). At times when goal conflict with a romantic partner was higher, individuals reported that their goals were impacted by COVID-19 more than when goal conflict was lower ( Vowels et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The growth of these negative, hostile relationship processes is consistent with Pietromonaco and Overall’s (2021) adapted VSA model and with Karney and Bradbury’s (1995) original VSA model, which predict that such patterns should be exacerbated when relational partners are faced with an external stressor such as COVID-19. Further, the association between conflict/IPV and external COVID-19-related stressors such as COVID-19-related anxiety (e.g., Merolla et al, 2021 ) and life stress ( Overall, Chang, Pietromonaco et al, 2021 ) exemplifies the link between maladaptive relationship processes and external stressors. Further, consistent links between conflict and decreased relational satisfaction during COVID-19 demonstrate the interplay between this maladaptive relational process and relationship quality ( Pietromonaco & Overall, 2021 ).…”

COVID-19 and Romantic Relationships

“…When people reported higher levels on these variables, they also reported more isolation and lower abilities to reduce conflicts. Moreover, the worsening in the quality of the relationships was related to lower optimism and hope [22]. In addition, more COVID-19-related conflicts decreased the frequency of some intimate behaviors such as hugging, kissing or holding hands [23].…”