Open Access“Emotional Distancing”: Change and Strain in U.S. Young Adult College Students’ Relationships During COVID-19
Author(s) -
Miranda P. Dotson,
Elena Maker Castro,
Nina T. Magid,
Lindsay Till Hoyt,
Ahna Ballanoff Suleiman,
Alison K. Cohen
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
emerging adulthood
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.572
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 2167-6984
pISSN - 2167-6968
DOI - 10.1177/21676968211065531
Subject(s) - social distance , distancing , covid-19 , pandemic , feeling , psychology , context (archaeology) , social psychology , social isolation , developmental psychology , medicine , virology , geography , disease , archaeology , pathology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty) , psychotherapist
We analyzed qualitative data from 707 USA college students aged 18-22 in late April 2020 regarding if and how their relationships had changed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most (69%) participants experienced relationship changes, most of whom (77%) described negative changes: less overall contact, feeling disconnected, and increased tension, some of which was due to conflict over pandemic-related public health precautions. Physical distancing from social contacts also created emotional distancing: it was harder to maintain affective connections via online platforms and within the isolating context of shelter-in-place. Due to emerging adulthood being a sensitive window for social development, the COVID-19 pandemic-induced emotional distancing could have long-term ramifications for this cohort's relationships over the course of their lives.