Parent and adolescent perspectives on family problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for family resilience

Abstract

Objective: To understand how parents and adolescents perceive the major family problems they faced during a global pandemic, focusing on implications for family resilience. Background: Families are challenged by the upheaval in contemporary life due to a global health pandemic and unrelenting changes to work, school, civic, and home routines. Family resilience theory guided our understanding of how families perceive and understand the problems they faced during a major disruption in their lives. Method: A diverse sample of parent-adolescent pairs was surveyed at two points in time. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze open-ended questions asking about family members' perceptions of the major problems they faced as a family during the pandemic. Results: Most participants reported a major family problem during the pandemic (e.g., unemployment, online learning, isolation, fear of COVID-19), with financial issues being the most prevalent problem. Parents were more likely to identify a major family tension, compared with adolescents, who were more likely to say they were unaware of any major family problems. Conclusion: Parents and adolescents reported substantial family stress and tension, especially around financial strain and social isolation, indicating their heightened awareness of the new risks they were facing. Both parents and adolescents also described a willingness to pull together on behalf of family well-being and adaptation. Implications: Support mechanisms through public policy and from family life practitioners can help families navigate pandemic-related stressors, assess adverse events in adolescence, promote new pathways in navigating disrupted routines, and enhance family resilience.