Pandemics and the Transformation of Family Relationships: A Look at the Social Interactions of Families during the Outbreak of Corona

The outbreak of COVID-19 virus was the beginning of dramatic changes in the individual and social relationships of families and, consequently, society as a whole, so that its’s psychological and social consequences caused a change in the daily lives of families. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the transformation that took place in the individual and social relationships of families during COVID-19 virus pandemic.

The present study is applied in terms of purpose and is considered as a qualitative research. The adopted method is narrative analysis and the data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 10 professors of social sciences and psychology in Sanandaj universities. The sampling method was snowball. The data were finally counted and categorized through three stages of open concepts, central categories and key categories.

The research findings indicated five key categories: 1. Contraction in social relations, 2. Transformation of leisure, 3. Exacerbation of self-morbidity, 4. Reduce social responsibility and, 5. Escalation of interpersonal tensions.

The psychological and social consequences of Corona have been such that many issues have arisen, such as the increase in divorce in families due to lack of necessary skills between couples to interact constructively during this period, the occurrence of family homicides due to lack of self-control in times of crisis, intensifying isolation and loneliness and changing the lifestyle of families has been effective and has caused many communication crises for families.