Resilience as a predictor for why some marital relationships flourished and others struggled during the initial months of COVID-19

Using the theory of resilience and relational load, this study examined how married individuals’ baseline communal orientation (CO) and relational load (RL) at the beginning of the pandemic predicted their stress, conflict, mental health, and flourishing during quarantine. Using a Qualtrics Panel, married individuals (N = 3,601) completed four online surveys from April to June 2020. Results revealed the initial levels of CO brought to quarantine predicted less stress and conflict, and better mental health and flourishing at baseline, and these outcomes remained relatively stable across the next 3 months. RL at baseline did the exact opposite for these outcomes, making coping more difficult. We also hypothesized CO and RL moderate the impact of stress (T1) on mental health 3 months later by reducing conflict. Rather than serving as buffers, CO and RL at baseline directly affected conflict (T2/T3) and mental health (T4) throughout quarantine.