Introduction
Since its emergence, COVID-19 has had an immense impact on all areas of human life and wellness. After over two years, the virus has spread worldwide and become a daily consideration for most, causing an unprecedented social and economic uproar. Despite stabilizing measures having taken place, and several vaccine distributions, the COVID virus retains its status as a threat to people’s daily lives. As a result of the global pandemic, many aspects of society that humans have taken for granted came to hold, bringing unforeseen circumstances. Economically, COVID has had one of the most prominent influences on the world. Imposing strict health regulations on most organizations, the appearance of an easily-spread virus has affected companies and their workers greatly. In particular, many organizations experienced a general inability to work, and layoffs became commonplace. Working still presented a challenge for those who could keep their jobs, increasing the need to either switch to a small occupation or work in dangerous conditions.
As highlighted by scholarly discussions, COVID-19 has mainly been a time of turbulence and loss for many, with families experiencing a shared sense of grief, trauma, and uncertainty, often physically confined in a single space. Research on domestic abuse survivors shows that living close to their abuser for prolonged periods, without work or other concerns acting as mediators, has had a severe influence on their mental state. These and many different nuances of the pandemic are worth discussing because of their centrality in today’s society and the lack of appropriate research on the subject. This work will focus more on the social and familiar aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak, seeking to discuss the subject within the constraints of the family. In particular, the ways in which the pandemic affected family dynamics and the family’s socioeconomic status will be addressed in this essay. The main hypothesis of this work is that the global pandemic and the virus itself have a severely negative impact on a family’s financial stability and emotional well-being.
Effect on Socioeconomic Status and Wellness
As a result of the pandemic, it became commonplace for families to lose their sources of income, relying on savings as a way to get by. Research shows that the job loss triggered by COVID-19 was more significant than any other in at least a decade. Unemployment rates for most people have skyrocketed at the start of 2020, slowly going on a decline afterward (Saenz & Sparks, 2020). Life satisfaction and wellness drastically declined for the majority population, with anxiety and future uncertainty combined robbing people of their sense of comfort (Blundell et al., 2020). Notably, people of color and other minority groups were more severely affected by this trend than their white counterparts and experienced a slower recovery. Most data shows that a disparity in wellness exists across the inequality lines of different social groups. Depending on a person’s age, gender, identity, living conditions and background, the choices they are presented with during the pandemic change. For example, studies showed that non-heterosexual individuals reported more severe negative health impacts than their counterparts, suggesting the existence of additional stress on this group of people (Fish, 2021). Systematically, those who are under heavier social strain, such as members of marginalized communities, have been shown to have more difficulty in handling the effects of COVID-19.
The inability to secure a steady source of income is a severe problem for families, who must often care not only for themselves but also for older adults and children. Having to live off of savings or other types of assisted income is incredibly challenging, as welfare programs in the United States are relatively restrictive. The slow drain of security and a lowered capacity to receive a steady income threatens families at a foundational level, impacting their socioeconomic stability. Furthermore, the lack of savings affects many’s future growth, expansion, and investment opportunities. People post COVID-19 found themselves incapable of initiating house repairs, paying bills, or buying their new cars or houses.
Socioeconomic problems extend to the well-being and safety of children, as well. COVID-19 presents a significant challenge to raising children for many families living in poverty. The financial pressure, added stress and limited access to support systems put such kids at risk of suffering the economic impact of the pandemic (Herrenkohl et al., 2020). The problem is prevalent enough to warrant extended discussions about changing welfare programs and multiple efforts to design a better support network for the poor. Furthermore, COVID-19 has a profound impact on family dynamics and interactions. Even individuals that were well-off while entering the COVID-19 lockdown period have suffered considerable financial setbacks. According to wellness self-reports, the wellbeing of those people decreased during the pandemic period (Wanberg et al., 2020).
Effect on Family Dynamics and Relationships
The effect of the pandemic on people’s social life has been immense, affecting the relationships between colleagues, relatives and friends. In particular, social distancing legislation and the fear of disease have contributed considerably to feelings of isolation, loneliness and difficulty in communication. Researches that examined the social interaction trends of the pandemic time say that the foundations of communication as a facet of human health have been undermined (Long et al., 2021). Living under a constant threat of disease with severe consequences, not knowing whether their savings will be enough, worrying about other family members, and other considerations chip away at the psyche of individuals, contributing to anxiety and depression. The families are often brought together not by security and happiness but by a sense of unease (Lebow, 2020). In addition, the pandemic forced most individuals to live close to one another, distinctly different from the usual forms of closeness.
The emotional connection is more forced than natural, often exacerbating already-existing problems within the family unit. Through deep isolation from the outside world, individual family units are susceptible to conflicts and internal issues (Lebow, 2020). In extreme cases, such as families where domestic abuse occurs, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a more negative lived experience. A study using an online survey found that most women who reported living in domestic abuse experienced a decline in their mental health (Sediri et al., 2020). The severity of both anxiety and depression was said to have increased. Likely due to continued exposure to their abusers and a lack of mediators.
Potential Benefits of the Pandemic to Family Wellness
It is possible to counter the claims made by this paragraph by focusing on the ability of a pandemic to bring family members closer together. Compared to normal living conditions, COVID was able to uniquely influence families and their shared dynamics in a single space, acting as a catalyst for change. The pandemic presenting families with a forced set of circumstances has brought together individuals that often do not have enough time to spend with one another (Prime et al., 2020). Certain research shows that some family dynamics were positively affected, especially parent-child relationships. Research into emerging family interactions showed that many parental figures were able to spend more time productively interacting with their kids, both in education and play (Eales et al., 2021). As a result, we can argue that families are capable of strengthening their bonds and spending more time together, which positively influences family dynamics. In this way, the pandemic can claim to be a tool for establishing stronger family bonds and building resilience.
While it would be difficult to deny the ability of the pandemic to bring people together, focusing on this aspect of the issue severely undermines the danger of the problems it presents. Health risks, anxiety, and loss within the family unit still permeate the public discussions of COVID’s effects. The virus’s health detriments undercut the many potential benefits of bringing a family unit closer together. In addition, most present evidence finds that domestic violence is perpetrated by an inability to meet financial obligations and unescapable family ties, suggesting that prolonged confinement to a single space is a danger for many (Béland et al., 2020). The focus should remain solely on the negative side-effects of COVID, as other frameworks do not allow scholars to examine the realities of domestic abuse that it perpetuates.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that the pandemic and the COVID-19 virus have immensely negatively impacted the family unit. Being capable of influencing all aspects of people’s lives worked to deteriorate families’ economic, social, and mental stability. Focusing solely on the United States, COVID-19 has effectively exposed the inefficient reality of the healthcare system, caused an exceedingly large number of people to develop lifelong debilitating symptoms, and contributed to a change in workplace safety policies. The strain of the disease, both mental and economic, worked to undermine the condition of the family unit, affecting both individuals and groups of people. Massive layoffs, loss of income, and job insecurity threatened the position of most families, limiting their opportunity for both survival and growth.
The problem also threatened children’s mental and physical health, further exacerbated by inadequate access to welfare for those living in poverty. The pandemic has also had a similarly destabilizing effect on interpersonal relations and family dynamics. Most people experience a shared sense of trauma, loss of their loved ones, or general anxiety about the future. In other cases, the subjection of victims of domestic abuse to live with their abusers led to a decline in mental health and wellness. Despite having the potential to provide families with the time to bond and create new memories, COVID-19 has had a largely negative impact that cannot be understated. Scholarly research on the subject is constantly expanding with the arrival of new statistical data. It is essential to study the potential effects of both COVID variants and long COVID on families to counteract the recent two years’ damage.
References
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