Family Life During and Beyond COVID-19: The Impact of Relationship Quality on Caregivers’ Management of Paid Work, Caregiving, and Self-Care

Abstract

This multi-method project examined how Australian caregivers navigated family life during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and subsequent impact on family health behaviours. Participants were invited to complete all three phases. In phase 1, 115 caregivers completed an online survey, focussed on 2020 experiences of COVID-19. In phase 2, 96 of the participants completed a use-of-time recall and 80 completed a dietary recall examining participants’ health behaviours including how they spent their time, their physical activity, and diet quality. Phase 3 involved 24 of the participants completing an online story completion task, focussed on understanding participants’ sense-making of COVID-19. Through triangulating analyses of the three phases, this project identified how poor relationship quality negatively affected families’ experiences of significant disruptions and transitions. This project provides a nuanced picture of how COVID-19 in 2020 impacted family life and highlights the importance of caregiver relationship quality for family health and wellbeing.