Abstract

The COVID-19 virus hit in 2020, affecting everyone worldwide. In America, between the time frame of April and July 2020, there was a lockdown initiated that resulted in people being forced to quarantine from others. This forced many geographically-close romantic relationships to become long-distance. This study focuses on how these romantic relationships were impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting quarantine. A survey was distributed asking 256 college students to assess their behaviors before and during the lockdown period. The communication technology used between the couples and its frequency of use was correlated with the satisfaction of the relationship. Both synchronous and asynchronous communication methods were compared and maintenance behaviors between the couples were analyzed. This study found that relationship satisfaction significantly correlated with the use of certain communication technologies, with synchronous proving more effective than asynchronous. In addition, the COVID-19 quarantine did play a role in ending relationships in some way as well as changing the maintenance behaviors couples utilized while being long-distance. This study offers a new way to look at how relationships can suffer or be maintained when couples are forced to be long-distance.

Thesis Completion

2022

Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair/Advisor

Weger, Harry

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Nicolson School of Communication and Media

Degree Program

Human Communication

Language

English

Access Status

Campus Access

Length of Campus-only Access

1 year

Release Date

11-1-2023

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