Weathering the Storm: Longitudinal Evidence on Women’s Changing Family Relationships During COVID-19

The massive socioeconomic changes wrought by COVID-19 have disrupted multiple aspects of family life. However, evidence is still lacking on the sustained long-term impact of the pandemic and how families are adapting to this new normal. This article studies changes in women’s family relationships ag...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family issues 2023-09, Vol.44 (9), p.2307-2332
Main Authors: Lim-Soh, Jeremy W., Tan, Poh Lin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Changes
COVID-19
Crises
Family work relationship
Income
Long term
Original
Public health
Resilience
Work at home
Working mothers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The massive socioeconomic changes wrought by COVID-19 have disrupted multiple aspects of family life. However, evidence is still lacking on the sustained long-term impact of the pandemic and how families are adapting to this new normal. This article studies changes in women’s family relationships against the backdrop of evolving COVID-19 public health responses, and investigates the adverse effects of working from home, income loss, and anxiety about the virus. We survey 356 Singaporean mothers over four waves: a baseline in April–July 2018 and follow-ups in May, June, and November 2020. Results suggest that while some family relationships suffered during the early days of the crisis, most families displayed resilience in the long-term. Nevertheless, a substantial minority continued to report worsened relationships. Mother’s work from home status and father’s income loss emerged as significant predictors of change in family relationships, highlighting the gendered nature of adaptation to crisis.
ISSN:0192-513X
1552-5481
DOI:10.1177/0192513X221087721