A Simple Trick Can Help Couples Weather COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Stress

Relationships are often undermined by everyday frustrations such as work stress or financial anxiety, but how do couples cope with a challenge as unprecedented as the COVID-19 pandemic? People who blamed their stress on the pandemic more than their partner were happier in their relationship, a new study in Social Psychological and Personality Science reports found.

Previous research has shown that romantic partners tend to be more critical of each other when experiencing common stress, but major events such as natural disasters are not always associated with relationship breakdown. Because these significant stressors are more noticeable than routine situations, people may be more aware that stress is affecting them.

“Because of this awareness, romantic partners are less likely to blame each other for their problems and more the stressor, which can reduce the damaging effects of stress on the relationship,” said Lisa Neff, an associate professor of human development and family sciences at the University. of Texas in Austin and one of the study’s co-authors.

The COVID-19 pandemic, with its widespread impact, provides a unique context to test this concept. Researchers analyzed data collected from 191 participants during the first weeks of the pandemic and again seven months later, and examined whether blaming the pandemic for problems could reduce how much stress affected their relationship, known as stress spillovers. .

“As expected, people generally blamed the pandemic more for their current problems than they did on their romantic partner,” Neff says, noting that this trend brought important relationship benefits. “Individuals who blamed the pandemic more were more resilient to the damaging effects of stress.”

Participants completed a questionnaire to assess the extent to which they blamed the pandemic for their problems. This was followed by a 14-day daily survey, focusing on their daily stressors, relationship satisfaction and their reports of negative behavior towards their partner.

While blaming the pandemic can reduce the damaging effects of stress on a relationship, it doesn’t eliminate them. If couples are aware of the impact stress has on their relationship, but the stressful circumstances are beyond their coping capabilities, the relationship can suffer. Still, the research shows the importance of recognizing that stress can color the way partners perceive and interact with their relationship.

“When couples are aware that stress can affect their relationship, it’s easier for couples to shift the blame for their problems off of each other onto the stressor,” says Neff. “This can help partners support each other more effectively and ultimately be more successful in getting through those tough times.”

Reference: 21 June 2021, Social Psychological and Personality Sciences.
DOI: 10.1177/19485506211022813

Social Psychological and Personality Science (SPPS) is an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), the Association for Research in Personality (ARP), the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology (SESP). Social Psychological and Personality Science publishes innovative and rigorous short reports of empirical research on the latest advances in personality and social psychology.