May 2022 CIC Webinar: Featured Q&A
Our monthly CIC webinars inspire some really fantastic audience Q&A sessions! In each monthly newsletter, we highlight one of the insightful questions raised from the webinar attendees.
A Featured Question from our May 2022 Webinar
This question was for Michael Rosenfeld, Stanford University, who presented his research on relationships during the pandemic, Online Social Networks, Relationships, and COVID-19.
You can watch Michael Rosenfeld's full presentation on our YouTube channel.
Question:
Your research touches on the resilience of partnered relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most studies in this area focus on monogamous couples, but do we know how polyamorous or non-monogamous relationships fared during the pandemic? Similarly, did your research show a generational divide in relationship resilience?
Answer from Michael Rosenfeld:
Our data reflect that people may have experienced multiple romantic relationships during the pandemic, yes, but it's difficult to map networks of relationships for polyamorous individuals. In terms of age, retired couples reported fewer personal changes during the pandemic. Generally speaking, younger, single people were at a social disadvantage during the pandemic, whereas partnered people (particularly those who are retired) experienced fewer social disruptions as a result of the pandemic.
Thank you to all of our May 2022 speakers and our CIC Community audience members for keeping the conversation going!