COVID-19’s Extraordinary Impact on Couples and Families

Abstract

As family members, couple and family psychologists, and leaders in addressing the effects of the pandemic on healthcare workers, patients, and their families, we were overwhelmed with the dramatic toll that Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was having on couple and family dynamics and life. From the outset of the global outbreak of COVID-19, we came to appreciate that the illness and death of loved ones, unparalleled periods of physical distancing and quarantine, and challenges of virtual versus inperson engagement were bringing some couples and families closer together and intensifying the tensions and conflicts in others. We found ourselves witnessing relationships within couples and families and with extended family members becoming increasingly complicated as they grappled with differences in values and risk tolerance, as well as too much togetherness or too much separation. We observed many people as they struggled to redefine their relationships, roles, responsibilities, and traditions both within their couple/family units and/or in the community. In our clinical work and our conversations with friends and family members, we saw themyriad ways in which children of all ages were being affected by the changes in their families and with their other key people in their lives, like their peers and teachers. We became increasingly worried about the ways in which this unprecedented context would influence children’s psychosocial trajectories and wanted to find effective ways to mitigate the negative effects on their life courses. Despite feeling overwhelmed and distressed, wewere optimistic that couple and family psychologists could advance in meaningful and significant ways our understanding of the short and long-term implications of the pandemic on couple and family dynamics and the lives of individual family members. We also believed couple and family psychologists could play a critical role in offering solutions to vexing relationship challenges. Thus, we were honored when we were invited to co-edit a special issue of Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice