Dr. Williamson has published an article about the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on relationships in Psychological Science. The COVID-19 pandemic has called upon couples to spend extended amounts of time together and rely primarily on each other for support during a major stressor that has upended nearly every aspect of daily life. In this study, individuals involved in a relationship were assessed before the start of the pandemic and again two times during the early stages of the pandemic to determine how their relationship changed. Overall, the results of this large, national study indicate that on average people did not change in how satisfied they were with their relationship, but did become more forgiving and less blaming of their partner’s negative behaviors by attributing them less to their partner’s internal characteristics. These results were true irrespective of multiple characteristics, including demographics of the partners, pre-existing characteristics of the relationship, and negative experiences resulting from the pandemic, but did vary based on couple functioning during the pandemic.

Read more about this study here.