Life Interrupted: How Family Routines Buffer Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: COVID-19 and Protective Factors in Family Life: A Developmental Perspective

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has contributed to dramatic changes in the daily lives of families. Many have had to adjust to new ways of living including working from home or unemployment, financial stress, homeschooling, and lack of access to important resources that were once relied upon (e.g., child care, parks/recreation). Given these changes in family life and subsequent risk for psychological distress (Brooks et al., 2020), research examining factors that may mitigate negative effects is needed. The present study considered whether maintenance of family routines during COVID-19 might be one such factor. Prior research has shown that families with well-established routines (e.g., regular mealtimes) demonstrate positive outcomes in physical and mental health (Miller Lumeng, & LeBourgeois, 2015; Utter et al., 2018), and that routines might be more important during periods of stress (Kiser, Medoff, & Black, 2010). However, family routines have not been studied in the context of a global crisis. The purpose of this study was to examine engagement in family routines prior to and during COVID-19, and evaluate whether engagement in family routines during COVID-19 could serve as a moderator between COVID-19-related stress and family resilience.

Caregivers (N=300) with at least one child between the ages of 6 and 18 completed online surveys using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) in May 2020. Following recommendations for data integrity (Schleider-Weisz, 2015), 245 caregivers were retained for analyses (Mage=36.8, SDage=8.8; 42.6% female; 66.5% White). Measures included the COVID Family Stress Screener (Huth-Bocks, 2020 unpublished measure) and the Family Strength/Resilience Questionnaire (Kumpfer et al., 2010). In addition, items were created to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the family (e.g., self-isolation status, COVID-19 diagnoses) and engagement in family routines (“Child(ren) follow a bedtime routine”) both prior to COVID-19 and during COVID-19.

Participants reported engaging significantly fewer routines during COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19 (t(241)=3.55, p<.001). Specifically, caregivers reported reduced frequency of children following a bedtime routine (t(242)=7.24, p<.001) and parents setting limits around screen time (t(242)=3.77, p<.001). There were no differences in total engagement in family routines based on demographic variables or COVID-19-related variables. Engagement in family routines moderated the relation between COVID-19-related stress and family resilience (b=.411, p<.01) indicating that family routines buffered the impact of COVID-19-related stress on family resilience. Specifically, COVID-19-related stress predicted lower levels of family resilience only in those families who engaged in fewer routines (B = -0.28, se = 0.06, p < .001), or an “average” amount of routines (B = -0.19, se = 0.04, p < .001) during COVID-19, even when controlling for level of pre-COVID-19 family routines. COVID-19-related stress did not impact on family resilience for those families engaged in high levels of routines during COVID-19 (B = -0.10, se = 0.05, p > .05).

Results demonstrate that COVID-19 influenced engagement in family routines. However, higher engagement in family routines during this challenging time might be protective factor for family resilience.

Authors

• Carolyn Rose Bates, Loyola University Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elizabeth Rea, Loyola University Chicago
  Presenting Author

• Laura Nicholson, Loyola University Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author

• Hannah Hagy, Loyola University Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author

• Amy Bohnert, Loyola University Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author