Stress on Familial Ties Due to Social Distancing and Quarantine

COVID-19 is not only testing the human race only medically but also socially and mentally. The amount of burden that is being on every individual’s nerves due to economic instability, fear of falling ill or a loved one catching the virus and fear of separation due to quarantine, death of a loved one and after-effects of it, increased domestic abuse and much more is all due to this pandemic. 

In 2019, a study found out that that stress related to a disaster can result in a higher rate of domestic violence and child abuse.“We found social factors that put people more at risk for violence are reduced access to resources, increased stress due to job loss or strained finances, and disconnection from social support systems,” Josie Serrata says. “With this pandemic, we’re seeing similar things happen, which unfortunately leads to circumstances that can foster violence.”

In IASC’s Interim Briefing Note about Addressing Mental Health and Psychosocial Aspects of COVID-19 Outbreak which came out in February 2020, it outlines how there are several angles of stress due to the pandemic. It talks about how one may feel powerless when it comes to protecting their loved ones.

Ashton Verdery of Penn State University said. “What is certain is that each death will be felt by many people, which will add additional bereavement burdens to people’s mental health and sever important sources of social support at precisely the time people need it the most.” Moreover, “This is exactly what we’re all trying to avoid: situations where we see these high rates of infection,”

Smith-Greenaway said. “This analysis is another way to demonstrate just how interconnected we are and to remind us that every life lost will leave a hole in a larger family system.” This is often causing parents and caregivers to be overprotective and overbearing to people under their care which is suffocating and is resulting in tension in family ties. “As we are all fixated on what this pandemic will mean in terms of the total lives lost, it is important to keep in mind that this number will feel far more pervasive because each life will leave multiple grieving,” said study author Emily Smith-Greenaway, an assistant professor of sociology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences.

IASC’s Briefing Note 2020 also talks about how people are fearing separation from family members due to quarantine. Many of them are living this horrible reality where they are separated from their loved ones due to social distancing which is unhealthy for both parties. Separation is hard as it is but not knowing when they will be able to meet again is a more stressing factor. 

Being cooped up together in such close quarters with family members is not always beneficial for many people due to their strained ties with the family. But due to quarantine, they are being forced to do so which is now being shown in increased reported cases of domestic violence and child abuse.

Evelyn Regner (S&D, AT), Chair of the EP Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, declared: ‘‘These days and the weeks ahead are especially dangerous for women. We are all facing major psychological challenges through isolation or quarantine, but women and sometimes children in unsafe homes are facing a particularly grueling stress test. We, therefore, must now pay particular attention to this issue and expand our actions to stop violence against women.’’ Since most of the shelters have been locked down, abuse victims seeking assistance have nowhere to go. People who used to rely on their social support systems have no one to turn to due to the phenomenon of social distancing. 

It has been pointed out that parents need to put on their oxygen mask before putting one on the kids which means that they need to take care of their mental health first so that their strained nerves do not result in a negative outburst in front of their kids. “Even parents who have great child management skills and great bonds with their kids are going to be tested,” says Yo Jackson, associate director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network at Penn State. Further, she stated that “The only way for you to reduce the risk of violence against children is to take care of yourself,” says Jackson. “There are no super parents; only parents who are more tuned in and connected to themselves.”

Dawn Trussell who is an associate professor of sport management at Brock University said, “The COVID-19 restrictions can still provide us with the opportunity to reconnect and strengthen our relationships and communication among family members through emails, letters, phone calls, and social media,” In these dark and trying times where people are experiencing fear, stress, anxiety, and abuse of different kinds regarding various circumstances, it can be predicted that when the human race comes out of this pandemic, it will not be the same as before. There will be evident and defined structural changes in society and every family, both negative and positive.