Love in the time of COVID‐19: A brief report on relationship and individual functioning among committed couples in the United States while under shelter‐in‐place orders

Abstract

The COVID‐19 pandemic in the United States has changed many aspects of people's daily life, including increased time at home in response to shelter‐in‐place orders, heightened stress about health effects of COVID‐19, and shifts in other domains of life (e.g., employment). These lifestyle changes are likely to impact the well‐being of individuals and their romantic relationships. This investigation examined how COVID‐19 influenced couple and individual well‐being in real‐time during the early phase of the pandemic. Data were collected in early May 2020 during shelter‐in‐place orders in the United States. Participants in committed relationships (n = 332) completed an online survey assessing their experiences currently and before the pandemic. Results suggested that while couple functioning overall maintained or even improved, individual well‐being was more negatively impacted by the pandemic. Moreover, some groups who are at higher risk of a poor health outcome from COVID‐19 or experience unique challenges as a result of COVID‐19 reported worse outcomes (e.g., those whose employment changed) while others did not decline in their psychological and couple functioning (e.g., Black individuals and older individuals). These findings suggest that the pandemic has had varied impacts on couples and individuals, as well as across different virus‐related risk factors. Further research is needed to understand the nuanced effects of this pandemic on couples and individuals across time.

Covid-19 and Marital Dissolution in West Java, Indonesia

“…Divorce rates, on the other hand, fell slightly by about 0.5% between 2019 and 2020. Recent studies found that the couple's level of satisfaction with their intimate relationship remained stable or even improved during the early stages of the pandemic ( Neff et al, 2021 ; Weber et al, 2021 ; Williamson, 2020 ). People even became more forgiving and less critical of their partner’s negative behaviors, attributing them to the pandemic ( Neff et al, 2021 ) rather than their partner's characteristics ( Williamson, 2020 ).…”

COVID-19 distress and interdependence of daily emotional intimacy, physical intimacy, and loneliness in cohabiting couples

“…Changes in relationship functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic are complex and varied, with heterogeneous effects across couples ( Donato et al, 2021 ; Schmid et al, 2021 ; Weber et al, 2021 ). To unpack some of this variation, the present study explored whether a baseline measure of COVID-19-related distress was associated with daily relational outcomes in cohabiting couples living in the NYC metropolitan area, as well as within-couple associations of relationship factors over time.…”

“…Moreover, there have been mixed results regarding how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected relationship functioning. Specifically, a number of studies have documented both increases and decreases in relationship satisfaction during the pandemic ( Schmid et al, 2021 ; Weber et al, 2021 ). We propose that subjective distress related to the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than mere exposure to the objective stressor itself, may underlie some of the divergence in relationship functioning.…”

The work-family interface and the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review

“…The increased amount of time spent together could have changed the work-family interface. For instance, Nuru and Bruess (2021) and Weber et al (2021) stated that most couples’ relationship quality was boosted or unaltered. These findings might be explained by individuals perceiving remote work as an arrangement that allows them to nurture their family relationships better.…”