Examining the Relationship Between Interpersonal Stress and Maladaptive Coping Patterns

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic shifted work and home life for many American couples and families, increasing demanding and added responsibilities. The stress of the homelife and worklife balance changes forced many couples to employ coping strategies, yet, for many, the stress overwhelmed their coping skills. This study aimed to examine how individuals coped with the stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic within the relational context. Methods: Using a daily diary longitudinal design, 230 individuals completed surveys examining relationship satisfaction, daily distress, negative partner interactions, parenting stress, emotional eating, and alcohol use on weekday and weekend days. Data were analyzed using four multiple linear regressions, for each maladaptive coping mechanism and for each day assessed. Results: Results indicated that greater use of emotional eating was associated with higher perceived relationship satisfaction and parenting distress during weekdays. Weekend data showed that parenting distress and daily distress were significantly related to greater use of emotional eating. Greater use of alcohol was associated with parenting distress on weekends only. Discussion: These results highlight the taxing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on couples’ and families’ ability to cope with parenting stress. The limited resources available to couples and families required that alternate coping strategies be implemented to reduce stress activation. With the frequency of using emotional eating and alcohol to cope with stress comes increased mental health risks and the necessity for counseling interventions and behavioral approaches to be implemented to result in more adaptive stress coping strategies.