Longitudinal effects of pandemic stressors and dyadic coping on relationship satisfaction during the COVID‐19 pandemic

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• Author: Emily Carrese‐Chacra,Kayla Hollett,Gizem Erdem,Sydney Miller,Jean‐Philippe Gouin
• Date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12885

RESEARCH

Longitudinal effects of pandemic stressors and dyadic

coping on relationship satisfaction during the

COVID-19 pandemic

Emily Carrese-Chacra

1

|Kayla Hollett

1

|Gizem Erdem

2

|

Sydney Miller

1

|Jean-Philippe Gouin

1

1

Department of Psychology, Concordia

University, Montreal, Canada

2

Department of Psychology, Koç University,

Istanbul, Turkey

Correspondence

Jean-Philippe Gouin, Department of

Psychology, Concordia University, 7141

Sherbrooke Street West, PY 17014, Montreal,

QC H4B 1R6, Canada.

Email: jp.gouin@concordia.ca

Funding information

Canada Research Chairs; Social Sciences and

Humanities Research Council of Canada

Abstract

Objective: This study examined changes in relationship

satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic and the mod-

erating roles of financial strain, perceived threat of

COVID-19, and dyadic coping.

Background: The systemic-transactional model of dyadic

coping posits that relationship satisfaction varies as a func-

tion of the stressors partners face and their engagement in

dyadic coping.

Method: About 188 partnered adults completed question-

naires at three time points during the initial confinement

period of the COVID-19 pandemic and at a 20-month

follow-up.

Results: Relationship satisfaction increased during the first

confinement period and returned to its baseline level at the

20-month follow-up. Greater financial strain and per-

ceived threat of COVID-19 were associated with poorer

relationship satisfaction over time. Dyadic coping buffered

the negative impact of financial strain on relationship sat-

isfaction during the initial confinement period, but not

20 months later.

Conclusions: Most individuals were resilient to the effect of

pandemic stressors on relationship satisfaction. The buffer-

ing effect of dyadic coping was observed during the initial

confinement period when access to support resources out-

side the family unit was curtailed.

Author Note: Dr. Gouin received research support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the

Canada Research Chair Program.

Received: 7 April 2022Revised: 2 February 2023Accepted: 5 March 2023

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12885

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use,

distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

© 2023 The Authors. Family Relations published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2023;72:645–664. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 645

Implications: Intervention efforts to promote dyadic cop-

ing and financial well-being for couples may be especially

helpful in the context of strict confinement measures.

KEYWORDS

COVID-19, dyadic coping, financial strain, pandemic stress, relationship

satisfaction

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic led to government-sanctioned confinement

measures to curb the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Such measures contributed to drastic

changes in the daily lives of adults, such as travel and quarantine restrictions, telecommuting,

school closures, limited access to childcare, as well as associated external stressors including fear

of oneself and loved ones contracting the virus and financial strain due to risk of or actual loss

of income. In many countries, these external stressors were compounded by strict stay-at-home

measures that limited access to social support from extended family and friends, leading par-

tnered individuals to rely more heavily on their significant others for support under these stress-

ful conditions. In this context, some individuals may have derived more support from their

romantic relationship, whereas others may have experienced increased relational tension and

instability due to pandemic-related stress (Pietromonaco & Overall, 2021).

RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Few studies have reported on trajectories of relationship outcomes during the initial confine-

ment phase of the pandemic. Cross-sectional data collected during this time suggests that, on

average, partnered individuals did not report significant changes in relationship quality (Biddle

et al., 2020), relational happiness and commitment (Walsh & Stephenson, 2021), or frustrations

toward their partner (Calarco et al., 2020). Similarly, longitudinal studies conducted by

Williamson (2020) and Gauvin et al. (2022) found that on average, relationship satisfaction did

not change over the course of the initial confinement period. However, significant inter-

individual differences in relational outcomes were also noted (Williamson, 2020). For example,

in a cross-sectional study, Biddle et al. (2020) surveyed 1,854 partnered individuals from a rep-

resentative sample in Australia and found that 27.9% of respondents reported having a stronger

relationship since the beginning of the pandemic while 17.5% reported having a more strained

relationship during this time. Furthermore, some longitudinal studies suggest that relationship

satisfaction decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with pre-pandemic levels

(Ahuja & Khurana, 2021; Schmid et al., 2021; Vigl et al., 2022), whereas other studies reported

that the perceived positive effects of the pandemic on romantic relationships and family life

were substantially higher than perceived negative effects during the first confinement period

(Canzi et al., 2021; Holmberg et al., 2022). In summary, studies to date suggest that although

some relationships were maintained or strengthened during initial confinement periods, others

deteriorated in quality. This variability in relational outcomes indicates that interpersonal pro-

cesses or contextual factors may have influenced how partnered individuals experienced and

coped with pandemic-related stress.

THE ROLE OF DYADIC COPING

Bodenmann’s (2005) systemic-transactional model (STM) proposes that dyadic coping, the pro-

cess through which spouses help each other when one or both partners are facing stressful live

646 FAMILY RELATIONS