How ‘staying at home’ during the pandemic put a strain on families

What is it about?

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of families around the world. The 'stay at home' directive (SAHD) was one of the major public health measures to control the spread of the disease. SAHD disrupted the role of each member of the family. People sometimes haved to adopt new roles along with their regular roles. These roles could also overlap. For example, a person may be a parent and a spouse at the same time. When a person feels like they are unable to meet the expectations of their 'role,-' they experience 'role strain.-' If a person can separate their different roles in time and space, they can manage the roles better. This is called 'role compartmentalization.-' SAHD has also changed the 'health related behavior'- of people. For example, people who are healthy and do not want to get sick adopt preventive health behavior. Meanwhile, people who are sick adopt sick role behavior. This study looks at families under SAHD. It examines role strain and role compartmentalization. It also looks at preventive health behavior and sick role behavior.

Featured Image

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The findings of the study show that role strain was a serious issue. This was both due to the COVID-19 pandemic and SAHD. The study also shows that role compartmentalization has a positive effect on role strain. This positive effect is higher in families that are not yet infected by the virus. The effect is also stronger in people who are parents. COVID-19 has severely affected the mental health of people all over the world. It is important to study the different ways in which COVID-19 and measures like SAHD affect people. This will help us plan ways to improve their mental health and decrease strain. This study shows that improving role compartmentalization is one of those ways. KEY TAKEAWAY: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our regular social and family roles. This is causing a lot of strain on people and affecting their mental health. Improving role compartmentalization can help people cope with their new roles both under SAHD and in the pandemic.