How do families cope with major societal stressors: a qualitative study of family coping during the pandemic?

BackgroundMajor societal stressors such as wars, natural disasters and pandemics severely disrupt family life. However, not all families are impacted equally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, surveys highlighted how most of UK society coped, but tended to exclude high-risk families. We sought to redress this. MethodsForty-three participants (25 parents from high-risk families; 18 family-support professionals) were interviewed about family their experiences during the first three months of lockdown. Interviews were conducted in two phases: around the start of the pandemic in April 2020, and during the first easing of restrictions in July 2020. Interviews were analysed using Thematic Analysis. ResultsSix major themes were identified: health & wellbeing, family dynamics, work & employment, education, home environment and adherence to government restrictions. Families faced challenges in creating a balance between parents work and childcare. A wide range of risk and protective factors, and the influence of pre-existing experiences, contributed to whether a family entered a Virtuous (supportive) or a Vicious (maladaptive) cycle of family coping. Negative pre-existing experiences worsened some families adaptation but helped other families to have resilience. ConclusionThis study extends the Family Stress Model by illustrating the potential for resilience among high-risk families, highlighting potential mechanisms that might enable some families to transform adversity into strength. These findings may be useful for professionals supporting high-risk families coping with societal stressors and for the development of recommendations for future pandemic preparedness.