Changing living arrangements and stress in lockdown

The Covid-19 outbreak has seen many families unexpectedly brought back together. School and university closures, the move to remote working, furlough or the loss of work have all seen the return of many adult children who had previously left the parental home. Other people have moved in to care for a friend or family member who has been ‘shielding’, and some vulnerable and/or older people have moved in with a younger relative or friend.

For many families, then, this has been a time of unexpected change: forcing them into close quarters, spending more time together than ever before, and often also facing a change in financial resources.

A team of us at the University of Southampton, drawn from the ESRC Centre for Population Change and the Centre for Research on Ageing, wanted to see what the effects of these changing family dynamics would be. We found strong evidence that people whose living arrangements have changed because of the pandemic are more likely to report increased stress and family conflict than those who haven’t moved.

We used the second Wave of the Understanding Society COVID-19 Study, and data from Covid-19 surveys conducted by four cohort studies: The Millennium Cohort Study, of people born in 2000-2002, now aged 19; Next Steps, born in 1989-1990, followed since adolescence and now aged 30; 1970 British Cohort Study, followed since birth and now 50; and the National Child Development Study, all born in 1958 and now aged 62. We wanted to see what impact these unexpected changes to living arrangements had on wellbeing and family relationships, measured by self-reported stress and interpersonal conflict.

We found:

• The majority (95.5%) of people responding to the Understanding Society COVID-19 survey had not changed their living arrangements during the three months since 1 March 2020.
• Just over 2% had changed their address, and a further 1.5% reported other people had moved in, while under 1% reported people moving out.
• Young people aged 16-29, accounted for over half (57%) of all respondents reporting that they had moved.
• Respondents in mid-life (45-59) and early later life (60-74) accounted for the majority of respondents reporting that other people had moved in or out.

Looking at the 19-year-olds in the Millennium Cohort Study, nearly a quarter (24%) reported a change in the people they were living with as a result of Covid-19, compared to under one in ten of the 1958 cohort, now aged 62.

How did the changes in living arrangements affect people?

The cohort data also showed that those whose household composition had changed were significantly more likely to report increased levels of stress compared to those whose living arrangements hadn’t changed (47.3% vs 36.9%).

Returning young adults benefit from the resources of the parental home, and older parents receive support from younger household members, but major life changes, financial problems, children and family, and work are common causes of stress. Also, these moves were unexpected, and young people may feel they have lost their independence, while older members of the household could struggle with having their grown-up children and even grandchildren living at home again.

Within a household, people provide and receive emotional, practical and financial support, but stress and conflict can flare up if they feel that resources and demands for support are not equal. This stress – and others, caused by demands, fear, expectations, and time pressures – produces psychological and physiological reactions. In the long term, stress can lead to serious health problems.

Our findings have important implications for public health and wider policy. Public services may need to be flexible to take these new forms of living into account, even though they may be temporary for many. For example, Universal Credit has been a lifeline for many families during the pandemic, but claims may be delayed for those whose changes in circumstances are complicated by temporary moves, with extended waiting times adding to stress. Other services such as GP practices may also need to ‘flex’, recognising that one in ten younger people have changed address during the pandemic – and may move again over the coming months as circumstances change.

This study is part of a wider collection of research by the ESRC Centre for Population Change on the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic. We’re now planning more work to better understand the complex situations at play, including changes in financial wellbeing and mental health.

Read the full paper

Authors

Covid 19Family and households