Changes in marital relationships over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic

IF 1.7 3区社会学 Q2 FAMILY STUDIES Family Relations Pub Date : 2025-01-27 DOI:10.1111/fare.13143

Karen B. Vanterpool, Heather M. Francis, Kirsten M. Greer, Zoe Moscovici, Cynthia A. Graham, Stephanie A. Sanders, Robin R. Milhausen, William L. Yarber

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Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to document changes in marital relationships over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

Research has suggested both positive and negative effects of the pandemic on marital relationships, but few studies have explored changes in relationship quality at different phases of the pandemic.

Method

Online survey data were collected from married individuals (n = 3,221, mean age 39.5 years, SD = 5.61) living in the United States at three time points during the pandemic: April 2020, December 2020–January 2021, and August–September, 2021. We report the findings on responses to an open-ended question: “Please explain how your relationship has changed over the course of the coronavirus.” Inductive qualitative content analysis was conducted.

Results

Most participants reported some changes in their relationships; positive changes were more prevalent than negative changes across the three time periods.

Discussion

Our findings are consistent with previous literature but also provide new insights into how marriages may have been differentially affected at early versus later stages of the pandemic.

Implications

Clinical implications of the findings are discussed, including specific recommendations for therapists working with couples.

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目的本研究旨在记录 COVID-19 大流行期间婚姻关系的变化。背景研究表明，大流行对婚姻关系既有积极影响，也有消极影响，但很少有研究探讨在大流行的不同阶段婚姻关系质量的变化。研究方法在大流行期间的三个时间点对居住在美国的已婚人士（n = 3,221 人，平均年龄 39.5 岁，SD = 5.61）进行了在线调查：2020 年 4 月、2020 年 12 月至 2021 年 1 月以及 2021 年 8 月至 9 月。我们报告了对一个开放式问题的回答结果："请解释你们之间的关系在冠状病毒流行期间发生了哪些变化"。我们进行了归纳式定性内容分析。结果大多数参与者都表示他们的人际关系发生了一些变化；在三个时间段内，积极的变化比消极的变化更为普遍。讨论我们的研究结果与以前的文献一致，但也提供了新的见解，说明在大流行的早期和后期，婚姻可能会受到不同程度的影响。启示讨论了研究结果的临床意义，包括对夫妻治疗师的具体建议。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Family Relations Multiple-

CiteScore

3.40

自引率

13.60%

发文量

164

期刊介绍： A premier, applied journal of family studies, Family Relations is mandatory reading for family scholars and all professionals who work with families, including: family practitioners, educators, marriage and family therapists, researchers, and social policy specialists. The journal"s content emphasizes family research with implications for intervention, education, and public policy, always publishing original, innovative and interdisciplinary works with specific recommendations for practice.