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Researchers found that when couples blamed the pandemic for their stress during the lockdown, they were happier in their relationships.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in the winter of 2020, locking down entire countries and leaving people isolated in their homes with no outside contact for weeks, many relationship experts wondered what that kind of stress would do. to romantic couples.
Previous research has shown that romantic partners tend to be more critical of each other when experiencing joint stress, which researchers call stress overflow, but major events such as natural disasters are not. always associated with poor relational functioning. Because these important stressors are more visible than routine situations, people may be more aware that stress is affecting them and spilling over into the relationship.
“Because of this awareness, when major stressors arise, dating partners may be less likely to blame each other for their problems and more likely to blame the stressor, which can reduce the damaging effects of stress. about the relationship, ”says Lisa Neff, an associate professor of human development and family science at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the study’s co-authors.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to study this phenomenon, with many couples suddenly working from home, spending more time together, trying to educate children at home, coping with job losses and facing the fear and anxiety of a deadly virus that spreads quickly. .
Researchers analyzed data collected from 191 participants in the first weeks of the pandemic and again seven months later. They found that while people were generally less happy in their relationship when they were under more stress, the damaging effects of stress were lower in people who blamed the pandemic for their stress.
“Some people get together and say, ‘It’s a stressful situation and we’re going to deal with it together, and we’re not going to blame each other for things that are hard or difficult,” ”said Marci Gleason. , associate professor of human development and family sciences.
Researchers initially believed that the protective effects of blaming the pandemic might wear off over time, but that was not the case.
“Even though people have been under a lot of stress for a long time, the pandemic has continued to be a headline in the news, which can keep it in people’s consciousness, helping to continue to blame the pandemic and reduce the fallout from stress blaming the pandemic, ”says Neff.
“Stress is often harmful, but the more you recognize it and where it comes from, the more you can protect yourself from it. Talking openly about this stress can weaken some of its negative effects.
The results are published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
Erin E. Crockett of Southwestern University and Oyku Ciftci of the University of Texas at Austin also contributed to the research, which received funding from the University Research Funds awarded to Marci Gleason and Erin E. Crockett.
Source: UT Austin
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