With the spread of COVID-19 and the consequent lockdowns and social distancing, one of the potential impacts of COVID-19 has been on the quality of people’s relationships. There has been a net improvement in relationships although for some relationships aren’t meeting expectations.
More than a quarter of people who saw a change in their relationship in May 2020 reported a net improvement.
Those aged between 45-54 had the highest net improvement in relationships of 15%.
A third of parents with children in the household felt their relationship improved compared to a quarter of those without a child in the house.
One in ten say their spouse or partner poorly meets their needs, up 4% from the 2016 baseline.
While just over half of those surveyed didn’t find their relationship had changed in May 2020, for those who did the as a net improvement. 28 per cent felt they were a lot or a little closer to their partner or that the relationship was stronger, while 18% felt their relationship was more difficult or strained.
More women than men reported an improvement in their relationship, and those aged 45-54 had the highest net improvement. But the situation for the youngest age group, 18-24, was not so positive with a net improvement of only 4 per cent. This was because that age group had the highest percentage of people ( 24%) reporting their relationship worsened.
Almost all of the improvement in relationships came from those who were married or living with someone in a long-term relationship. For those who didn't have a partner, roughly the same proportion of people said that their relationship improved as those who said it had worsened - 22 per cent to 21 per cent.
Those who did have a partner in the household had a 15 per cent net improvement. 31 per cent said their relationships were better with 16 per cent saying theirs was worse.
It made no difference whether or not people were parents of a child in the house for those who reported their relationship was worse. But parents more strongly reported their relationship was better - 33 per cent of parents compared to 25 per cent of non-parents.
While there is some caution comparing the 2016 HILDA (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia) survey with the May 2020 ANU Poll, the differences do give some indication that aspects of relationship quality have declined.
The biggest increases were for those who felt their spouse or partner poorly meets their needs and for those who think their relationship has hardly met original expectations.
There was not an observed worsening for all population groups or even most age groups. Specifically, there was a slight decline in relationship quality for males, but not for females. There was an observed decline for one age group only, those aged 35 to 44 years.