ABSTRACT
This study examined the relationship between perceptions of relational history, namely, past relational challenges, and everyday social interaction experiences. In efforts to build upon and extend previous research, hypotheses directed toward replication and extension were tested in two experience sampling datasets (N = 120 and 220). Consistent support was found for the idea that people with a history of relational difficulties tend to perceive less interaction partner responsiveness, lower well-being, and higher stress during social interactions. Support was also found in a sample of adults for a multilevel mediation model whereby negative relations with others negatively predicted partner responsiveness through stress and partner liking. Results are interpreted based on affection-, appraisal-, and resource-based theories and potential differences in relational experiences at unique life stages and phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Communication Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic alters day-to-day relational experiences and how daily relational experiences shape outlook on the pandemic. Data were collected from university students in the U.S. using smartphone-based experience sampling and nightly diary surveys over a 10-day period beginning in April 2020. To address the first objective, we examined how pandemic-related anxiety and depressive symptoms manifested in three aspects of daily relational life: (a) perceptions of loneliness, (b) relational difficulty, and (c) communication quality. To address the second objective, we investigated how daily relational experiences were linked to their end-of-day outlook of the pandemic in terms of pessimism versus optimism regarding COVID-19 and general sense of hope. Over the 10-day study period, COVID-19-related anxiety was found to be uniquely associated with greater loneliness, desire for interaction when alone, interpersonal conflict, and distraction during communication episodes. In addition, results showed that relational experiences throughout the day, including loneliness, challenges maintaining relationships, and communication quality, were linked to end-of-day COVID-19 optimism and state hope. Overall, this study identifies potential ways in which young adults? relational lives were altered during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. Results also suggest how relational experiences factor into daily social constructions of the pandemic.