Introduction to the Special Issue on Family Communication in the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

This introduction discusses the importance of researching how the COVID-19 has affected family relationships. Additionally, it introduces the articles in the special issue “Family Communication in the COVID-19 Pandemic” and outlines directions for continued research examining the long-lasting consequences, positive and negative, of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected families around the world. As of May 2021, the coronavirus has spread to 192 countries and regions worldwide, with more than 155 million known infections and over 3.2 million deaths attributable to the disease (Johns Hopkins University, 2021). As a result, governments required cities, regions, and in some cases entire countries to “lock down” where only essential employees were allowed to go to work, leaving millions of families to figure out how to balance the competing economic and health demands associated with the disease while also facing physical isolation from extended family and support systems. Even as “lock downs” ease around the world, the effects of the pandemic will be long-lasting, as families attempt to adapt to the changes and cope with the uncertainty that may characterize life in the foreseeable future. Yet, families are resilient, and can emerge from such crises as strong, if not stronger than before, a process attributable to effective family communication. From parent-child relationships to intergenerational bonds, family ties and communication help individuals understand, cope, adapt to change, and foster resilience (Theiss, 2018).

For this special issue of the Journal of Family Communication, we sought submissions that shed light on the communication issues that emerged, or became more salient, as a result of COVID-19. The articles provide a fascinating snapshot of pandemic life in the U.S. and around the world that address a variety of relationship types and phases in the family life cycle. The articles reveal not only the significant communication challenges and difficulties that families faced during the pandemic, but also how they used communication to cope with stress and build resiliency while also maintaining close relational ties with each other, despite the uncertainty, physical distancing, and forced proximity that characterized this unique period in time.

COVID-19 and family relationships

The COVID-19 pandemic initiated seismic changes in daily life. Lock-down orders across the globe necessitated that individuals recalibrate how they interface with work, community, and relationships. This non-normative transition, which was initially thought to be temporary, has endured and transformed life in myriad ways. For instance, at the height of the pandemic, approximately 71% of U.S. employees were working from home (Pew Research Center, 2020) and wearing face coverings and maintaining physical distance had become a normal way of life. In addition to employment and public health related shifts, personal relationships, including family bonds, were also impacted by the pandemic. Families, for instance, had to negotiate working from home with no childcare (Waddell et al., 2021), readjust routines as college-aged children moved back to the family home to shelter-in-place (e.g., Lederer et al., 2021), and navigate developmental stressors, like childbirth, against the backdrop of a global pandemic (Mayopoulos et al., 2021). Learning how to (re)negotiate life in the face of COVID-19, however, has not been without struggles.

Many individuals found themselves grappling with uncertainties and changes in relational interdependence as work, family, and survival demands collided (Solomon et al., 2016). Contextual uncertainties (Monk & Ogolsky, 2019) regarding the pandemic such as inconsistent information about COVID-19 (e.g., prevention, symptom patterns) or ambiguous timelines regarding lock-down orders or COVID-19’s presence in one’s community (Hernandez & Colaner, 2021) intersected with relationship characteristics and elicited (or exacerbated existing) relational uncertainties and presented opportunities for relational disruptions (e.g., Hernandez & Colaner, 2021; Monk & Ogolsky, 2019). For instance, increased time together during lock-down amplified opportunities for partner interference, which corresponded with negative emotions (i.e., anger and sadness) and perceptions of the relationship as turbulent (Knoster et al., 2020). It is likely that these experiences shaped family members’ emotional and cognitive experiences, which in turn affect if, and how, they communicate their needs, frustrations, and worries (Solomon et al., 2016). Indeed, families that struggled to manage doubts and interfered with one another’s goals and routines may have relied on maladaptive communication behaviors resulting in relational dysfunction (Solomon et al., 2016) that could last beyond this period of upheaval. Given that communication is central to social support and coping processes (Maguire, 2012), it is important to understand how the pandemic has affected families’ abilities to communicate and function in a healthy and constructive manner. Illuminating the challenges families have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent relational implications can provide insight into more or less effective communication tools that can be helpful as families across the globe ease their way toward a “new normal”.

Although scholars and media outlets often privileged the nuclear family, especially those with young children, when discussing relational implications of COVID-19, the sustained nature of the pandemic has taken its toll on relational dynamics throughout the family system and across the family lifespan (e.g., Prime et al., 2020). For example, the importance of extended family has become increasingly clear as families navigated vast time periods without in-person family support, such as childcare, due to the pandemic (Cantillon et al., 2021). These difficulties were compounded when normative transitions such as childbirth or marriage occurred in the context of the pandemic, amplifying the absence of extended family and circumscribing opportunities for family connection and support (Davis-Floyd et al., 2020). Further, although many individuals used technology to bridge the physical gap resulting from social distancing, technology was not always a successful substitute and, at times, exacerbated feelings of loneliness (Curran & Seiter, 2021). It is clear the COVID-19 pandemic has had and will continue to have profound implications on family life. Learning how communication can be used as a tool to help families cope with and rebound from this experience is imperative.

An overview of the articles

With these profound implications in mind, we created a broad call for family communication research that centered the COVID-19 pandemic with particular attention to how families responded to the constraints and challenges surrounding the pandemic. Understanding how individuals and families respond to adversity and the factors that may facilitate or inhibit effective responses provides valuable insight into what fosters resilience in families, allowing them to grow together as they emerge from crisis (Lucas & Buzzanell, 2012). The articles selected for this special issue not only illuminate the challenges families faced in the earlier months of the pandemic, but also demonstrate how they navigated their way through the uncertainties and hardships brought on by the pandemic. Through the use of diverse theoretical lenses, including relational turbulence theory, uncertainty management theory, and communicative narrative sense-making theory, and primarily interpretive methodologies, these scholars present an in-depth view of the lived experiences of families across the globe during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, these articles illustrate how the pandemic affected an array of family relationship types and processes across the lifespan. From coping to parenting (children of any age) to navigating intergenerational bonds across distance – it appears no family tie was impervious to the effects of COVID-19.

First, Jones et al. masterfully weave theorizing on relational turbulence theory (RTT; Solomon et al., 2016) and communal coping (Afifi et al., 2006) to examine how cohabiting couples were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 151 cohabiting dyads reported on the effects of the pandemic on their relationship and the coping strategies they used to manage these changes. Thematic analysis revealed four relationship effects that mapped onto constructs outlined by RTT like changes in interdependence, intimacy, negative emotions, stress, uncertainty, and communication. Reflected in these themes were both positive and negative changes resulting from COVID-19. For instance, some couples discussed increases in intimacy due to having more time together, whereas others noted the stress of the pandemic and balancing work and parenting negatively impacted available time and desire to be intimate. Partners engaged in eight coping strategies such as reinforcing intimacy and connection, managing routines, and setting boundaries. Primary coping strategies often differed between couples with and without children. For instance, couples without children often engaged in escape behaviors, such as relaxing food and alcohol restrictions, whereas couples with children coped with changes by managing routines. Findings spotlight the turbulence elicited by the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in changes to romantic relationships that required attention through both dyadic and individual coping strategies. Understanding the relational impact of the pandemic and elucidating successful coping mechanisms is helpful in assisting couples make sense of their pandemic experiences as well as providing a healthy framework for relational functioning in a post-pandemic world.

Second, Charvat et al. offer an interesting and thought-provoking examination of the social support that pregnant women received – or were prevented from receiving – due to COVID-19. Through the lens of communicated narrative sense-making theory (Koenig Kellas, 2018), analysis of the 21 interviews revealed both negative and positive accounts of pregnancy during the pandemic. Although intended to prevent the spread of the illness, social distancing meant that many of the supportive processes and rituals that surround pregnancy, such as close in-person contact with health providers; partner accompaniment to appointments and the delivery; baby showers; and visits from friends and family happened only virtually, if at all, leading some participants to tell their stories with a more negative tone. At the same time, many participants reported that connecting with and learning from others in their same position via virtual groups and channels, finding creative ways to engage loved ones in their pregnancy journey and get emotional support, and receiving assistance from supporters near and far helped the women perceive their experiences in a more positive light. The restrictions imposed by the pandemic thereby brought into sharp focus the critical importance of social support during pregnancy, particularly from healthcare providers and close relational partners, and how restrictions on that support may hinder sense-making and coping during difficult times.

Third, Merkaš et al. provide an important international perspective in their study of how the pandemic has affected Croatian families with younger, school-aged children (3–14 years old) in the household. When the survey was conducted in May 2020, Croatia had enacted strict lock-down measures to prevent a rise in positive COVID-19 cases. Given that many parents were working from home because of the lock-down, the authors hypothesized that parents would be distracted by technology, which would then affect their child’s social competence. Their survey of 281 parents with younger children revealed that higher levels of technological interference (TI) with parenting was associated with lower levels of child social competence; however, parent emotional stability moderated the relationship, where medium to high levels of emotional stability buffered the negative effect of TI on child social competence when TI was low. Although these findings suggest that parents with good emotional regulation skills may be able to engage with their children in the presence of light technology use, these skills may not protect their children from the negative effects of high levels of TI during both routine and critical parenting moments.

Fourth, Walker et al. brilliantly illuminate the complex challenges mothers encountered early in the pandemic. Utilizing an uncertainty management lens (Brashers, 2001), Walker et al. elucidate how mothers of older children (15–26 years of age) managed myriad uncertainties resultant from COVID-19. Drawing on qualitative interview data from 25 mothers during the early stages of the pandemic (March – May 2020), four themes of uncertainty emerged: adjustment uncertainty, threat of COVID-19 uncertainty, social interaction uncertainty, and information uncertainty. Mothers worried about their children adjusting to restrictions that confined them to the family home and losing access to friends, in-person school, and extracurricular activities. Mothers also reported uncertainties regarding acceptable social interaction for their children, which were often amplified by ambiguities about the threat of the virus and the influx of rapidly evolving (and at times contradictory) public health and media information regarding COVID-19. Mothers relied on an array of uncertainty management strategies, including direct communication and topic avoidance; however, strategy selection was often contingent on the source of uncertainty (e.g., adjustment uncertainty, social interaction uncertainty) and age of children (e.g., high school vs. student). Together, these findings highlight the cognitive strain of uncertainty on mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as how a singular event can elicit myriad questions. Findings further underscore the importance of public health messaging as an important tool in helping manage uncertainty during a global pandemic.

Finally, Popyk and Pustułka deftly elucidate the ways in which COVID-19 has affected transnational intergenerational communication between migrant grandchildren in Poland and their grandparents. Specifically, the authors explored how COVID-19 stay-at-home orders affected the interdependence between technology-mediated and face-to-face communication between migrant families. Drawing on the communicative interdependence perspective (Caughlin & Sharabi, 2013), the authors interviewed 20 migrant grandchildren and 19 parents to understand how COVID-19 travel restrictions impacted intergenerational communication and what modes grandchildren and their grandparents relied on during lockdown. Findings revealed four modes of transnational intergenerational communication: emotional, symbolic, mediated, and discontinuous. The inability to engage in face-to-face communication with grandparents heightened reliance on information and communication technologies (ICT). Although ICTs can be a useful modality for staying connected, especially across distance, sole reliance on ICT may impede grandparents’ ability to assist with family care and decrease the frequency of communication, potentially weakening intergenerational ties. Together, these results reveal the challenges of transnational intergenerational communication during the COVID-19 pandemic and offer practical recommendations that take into account the importance of extended family bonds on well-being during the pandemic.

Concluding thoughts

The articles in this special issue advance our understanding of family communication during crisis. Although situated within a very specific context – the COVID-19 pandemic – the theoretical and practical implications of the research extend far beyond this moment, particularly when viewed within a resilience framework, thereby providing fruitful opportunities for future research.

In her presidential address to the International Communication Association, Buzzanell, (2010) argued that resilience, the ability to “bounce back” after difficult experiences such as a global pandemic, is not a personality trait or stable quality of some entity, but instead a communicative process that develops over time and in concert with others. One of the ways that resilience is developed is through maintaining and using communication networks. This idea is evident in the articles as we saw how access to network support (or lack thereof) could change the central theme of women’s pregnancy stories from overcoming pandemic-related obstacles, thereby fostering a sense of resiliency, to succumbing to those obstacles, with a focus on the negative instead of the potential for growth (Charvet et al.). Network support was also integral for cohabiting couples as they relied on virtual connections with their social networks, such as virtual game nights or weekly video chats, as a strategy for coping with pandemic related stressors (Jones et al.). Understanding that resilience is a process that happens over time, longitudinal research is needed to not only understand what happened to social networks in the immediate COVID-19 moment, but also possible long-range effects and influences once restrictions ease and families attempt to reconnect with their support systems.

Another element of fostering resilience evident in the articles involves the construction, enactment, and affirmation of identity anchors (i.e., enduring clusters of identity discourses individuals use to explain who are for themselves and in relation to others; Buzzanell, 2010) that help families persevere through difficult times. Whereas Merkaš et al. demonstrate how technology can interfere with the enactment of the parenting identity and essential parent-child interactions that model appropriate responses to stress and build resiliency, Popyk and Pustułka show how technology can facilitate the enactment of the grandparenting identity, despite the physical separation, thereby allowing this critical family relationship to continue. An important avenue for future research is how other identities, and the intersectionality of those identities, enter into conversations about identity anchors and family resilience. Although we encouraged submissions that centered families at the margins, the participants across studies in this special issue were mostly white, well-educated individuals navigating COVID-19, with a few notable exceptions (see Walker et al.). Given that families of color have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic on almost every metric, including health outcomes (e.g., higher risk of getting and dying from COVID-19) and unemployment rates (Center for Disease Control, 2021; Pew Research Center, 2020), it is imperative that communication scholars understand the lived experiences of families of color as findings and practical recommendations based on white families likely do not reflect the challenges families of color face as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, the three Black mothers interviewed by Walker et al. expressed uncertainties and management strategies that were inextricably linked to the racial disparities and systemic racism. As family communication scholars we need to conduct more inclusive and representative scholarship and amplify the voices of families of color.

Finally, the articles in this issue clearly show how families bring a “new normalcy to life–one embedded in material realities and generated by talk-in-interaction” (Buzzanell, 2010, p. 4). Although the traditional rituals surrounding pregnancy could not occur because of social distancing requirements, Charvat et al. found that support networks created a new normal as they celebrated the impending birth of a child and supported the pregnant mother through more COVID-safe ways (snail mail, video calls, porch-deliveries, etc.). Further, Popyk and Pustułka uncovered that immigrant grandchildren created a new normal by relying on technology, including video chats and phone calls, to maintain “familyhood” and caregiving responsibilities. Future research should continue to delve into how families created a new normalcy during the pandemic by finding innovative and creative ways to maintain relationships and to communally cope with stress – two important processes related to resilience (Afifi et al., 2016). Just as Lucas and Buzzanell (2012) collected memorable messages related to the 1980’s recession to understand how families developed both short- and long-term resiliencies, future research should also investigate how families communicatively (re)construct family identity and family history to celebrate the strength and adaptability of the family during the pandemic, and how such narrative-sense making may support future coping efforts (Theiss, 2018). Such family stories could also reveal how resilience is communicatively constructed where productive action is put in the foreground while still recognizing the detrimental circumstances surrounding the pandemic (Buzzanell, 2010).

In closing, we would like to extend our gratitude to all of those who made this special issue possible, even as each of us were coping with our own challenges and opportunities from the pandemic. To start, we thank Scott Myers for his guidance through the editorial process, and the editorial board of the Journal of Family Communication for their support of this special issue. We also thank all of the reviewers who graciously volunteered to read manuscripts and provide their valuable feedback on such a tight timetable. Last but not least, we thank all of the submitters for sharing their important research with us. The research presented in this issue highlights the importance of family communication scholarship and provides us with valuable insight and advice as we emerge from the chaos of this past year with lessons learned and, thanks to these scholars, evidence-based strategies to help us understand, process, and cope with our experiences as we communicatively create our new normal.