A Rutgers study exploring the impact of Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns on individuals in romantic relationships found that those who practiced resilience by creating new routines and adopting a positive attitude were the most likely to reduce uncertainty in their relationships.

The study, “Examining Actor‐Partner Effects in the Associations between Dyadic Resilience and Conditions of Relational Turbulence During the COVID‐19 Pandemic” by Ph.D. student Hannah E. Jones, Professor of Communication Jennifer A. Theiss, Ph.D. student Jorlanditha T. Austin, and alumna Deborah B. Yoon M.C.I.S.’15, Ph.D.’22, was published in the Journal of Adversity and Resilience Science.

The researchers examined five types of resilience behaviors that people might enact in relationships to buffer the experiences of relational uncertainty; disrupted patterns of interdependence; and turmoil. They are, maintaining old routines; creating new routines; focusing on positivity; using jokes and humor; and being lucky.

“Keeping routines created pre-COVID,  positively reframing conditions caused by the pandemic, and seeking ways to ‘reset' all proved as useful forms of resilience to help lower turmoil in relationships."

They also studied how one individual's experience with these variables impacted their partner's experience, which reveals the ways that partners' experiences were intertwined.

Their results showed that many couples were potentially unprepared for conditions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and, therefore, did not have the appropriate interpersonal skills and resources needed to enact resilience behaviors that would help them navigate challenges created by the pandemic.

“Knowing this,” Theiss said, “our results suggest that couples should prioritize building resilience behaviors into their relationship as a routine source of relationship maintenance, so when they are faced with difficult experiences in the future, they have a foundation of resilience behaviors they can fall back on instead of having to build them from the ground up. Some of these resilience behaviors can include engaging in routine relationship maintenance, increasing the quality of support one offers their partner, and creating new routines that are unique for individual couples. Overall, our results show that enacting resilience behaviors during times of crisis improves relationship functioning.”

"Interestingly, the only form of partner resilience that did not help lessen individuals’ experiences of turmoil occurred when one's partner used jokes and humor as a resilience method to cope with conditions associated with the pandemic.” 

To conduct the study, the researchers recruited co-habitating romantic couples from across the United States from late March to May of 2020. A total of 302 individuals (151 couples) participated in the study, in which they completed a series of four weekly surveys measuring relationship characteristics and assessing the impact of the pandemic on their personal lives.

“Key findings,” Theiss said, “include that keeping routines created pre-COVID,  positively reframing conditions caused by the pandemic, and seeking ways to ‘reset' all proved as useful forms of resilience to help lower turmoil in relationships. Interestingly, the only form of partner resilience that did not help lessen individuals’ experiences of turmoil occurred when one's partner used jokes and humor as a resilience method to cope with conditions associated with the pandemic.” 

Their results also forward academic research on resilience, Theiss said, “as most resilience research explores how resilience functions at the global, group, or organizational level. Our results show how resilience can function in micro, socio-relational contexts.”

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