Families In the Storm: an observational study on family systems during the pandemic in an Italian sample

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences for social contact limitations have forced everyone to drastically alter their lifestyles in the emotional, social, and working spheres. The contagion prevention measures, in particular, forced families to spend all of their time together at home for long months, resulting in a reorganization of relationships, time, and living space. Families have had to protect the cohesion of their relationships across all latitudes and cultures as they face a period marked by uncertainty about the future, health anguish, and mourning for those who have died because of the pandemic. Within this framework, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of the pandemic on family cohesion because of prolonged social isolation. A sample of 132 families (33 fathers and 99 mothers, whose mean age was 42 years) were recruited using an ad hoc questionnaire that asked one of the parents about their subjective assessment of the perceived changes in their families because of the pandemic. The data gathered point out that these families show resilient coping patterns. The positive effects on interpersonal cohesion, emotional bonding, and communication quality appear to outweigh the pandemic's negative antithetical effects.