Table 1
Breakdown of criteria for relationship improvement and deterioration tiers 1–5 used to quantify gross relationship improvement or deterioration between survey waves 1 and 2 for specifying our analytic samples in the qualitative analysis.
| Relationship improvement tier | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 1 | Relationship(s) deteriorated in both waves with no improvement in either wave |
| 2 | Relationship(s) deteriorated only in 1 wave with no improvement in the other |
| 3 | Relationship(s) did not change |
| 4 | Relationship(s) improved in 1 wave only with no deterioration in the other |
| 5 | Relationship(s) improved in both waves with no deterioration in either wave |
Source: Author’s contribution.
Table 2
Sociodemographic information descriptive statistics from respondents who submitted answers for both survey waves (n = 300).
| Characteristic | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | ||
| Male | 64 | 21 |
| Female | 236 | 79 |
| Age category | ||
| 18–29 | 64 | 21 |
| 30–49 | 99 | 33 |
| 50+ | 137 | 46 |
| Ethnicity | ||
| White (UK) | 180 | 60 |
| White (Irish) | 7 | 2 |
| White (Other) | 30 | 10 |
| White and Asian | 4 | 1 |
| Multiple ethnic background | 2 | <1 |
| Asian/Asian British (Indian) | 4 | 1 |
| Asian/Asian British (Pakistani) | 1 | <1 |
| Asian (other) | 1 | <1 |
| Other (not listed) | 1 | <1 |
| No answer | 70 | 23 |
| Educational attainment | ||
| No qualifications | 1 | <1 |
| GCSE or O-Level | 5 | 2 |
| A-levels | 20 | 7 |
| Other school qualifications | 1 | <1 |
| Undergraduate degree | 114 | 38 |
| Post graduate degree | 134 | 45 |
| Vocational qualifications | 16 | 5 |
| Others | 7 | 2 |
| No answer | 2 | 1 |
| Household income | ||
| Less than £15,000 | 25 | 8 |
| £15,000 to £19,999 | 15 | 5 |
| £20,000 to £24,999 | 16 | 5 |
| £25,000 to £29,999 | 25 | 8 |
| £30,000 to £34,999 | 27 | 9 |
| £35,000 to £39,999 | 24 | 8 |
| £40,000 to £44,999 | 19 | 6 |
| £45,000 to £54,999 | 24 | 8 |
| £55,000 to £59,999 | 14 | 4 |
| £60,000 to £64,999 | 18 | 6 |
| £70,000 to £74,999 | 13 | 4 |
| £75,000 to £79,999 | 14 | 5 |
| More than £80,000 | 46 | 15 |
| No answer | 20 | 7 |
Source: Author’s contribution.
Figure 1
Boxplot of retrospective life satisfaction scores from n = 300 respondents at three time points: pre-lockdown, March 2020, and January 2021. Axes: x = lockdown period and y = satisfaction score (1–10), with standard error included as error bars.
Source: Author’s contribution.
Table 3
Summary of recurrent themes observed in subgroups where the relationship between overall relationship improvement throughout confinement and change in life satisfaction was investigated.
| Relationship improvement with at least 1 other (any) individual within confinement | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Subgroup | Sample size | Recurrent theme | Count |
| Relationship(s) improved and life satisfaction | 41 | Being unable to see elderly relatives | 0 |
| Increased | Death of a loved one | 2 | |
| Developing depression | 0 | ||
| Family illness | 2 | ||
| Feeling fortunate/lucky | 5 | ||
| Friends/family moving out | 0 | ||
| Moving home | 12 | ||
| No major life changes occurred | 5 | ||
| Not being able to see family | 1 | ||
| Redundancy/changing work situation | 8 | ||
| Relationship(s) improved and life satisfaction | 64 | Being unable to see elderly relatives | 3 |
| Decreased | Death of a loved one | 7 | |
| Developing depression | 1 | ||
| Family illness | 7 | ||
| Feeling fortunate/lucky | 5 | ||
| Friends/family moving out | 4 | ||
| Moving home | 6 | ||
| No major life changes occurred | 2 | ||
| Not being able to see family | 7 | ||
| Redundancy/changing work situation | 7 |
Source: Author’s contribution.
Table 4
Summary of recurrent themes observed in filtered subgroups where the relationship between relationship improvement with a partner/spouse throughout confinement and change in life satisfaction was investigated.
| Relationship improvement with partner/spouse | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Subgroup | Sample size | Recurrent theme | Count |
| Relationship improved and life satisfaction | 21 | Being unable to see elderly relatives | 0 |
| Increased | Death of a loved one | 1 | |
| Developing depression | 0 | ||
| Family illness | 0 | ||
| Feeling fortunate/lucky | 5 | ||
| Friends/family moving out | 0 | ||
| Moving home | 5 | ||
| No major life changes occurred | 3 | ||
| Not being able to see family | 0 | ||
| Redundancy/changing work situation | 2 | ||
| Relationship improved and life satisfaction | 30 | Being unable to see elderly relatives | 3 |
| Decreased | Death of a loved one | 3 | |
| Developing depression | 3 | ||
| Family illness | 5 | ||
| Feeling fortunate/lucky | 1 | ||
| Friends/family moving out | 0 | ||
| Moving home | 4 | ||
| No major life changes occurred | 4 | ||
| Not being able to see family | 3 | ||
| Redundancy/changing work situation | 7 |
Source: Author’s contribution.