Family Communication and Family Ties in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Megan N Reed , Emory University
Lauren Harris, University of Pennsylvania
Luca Maria Pesando, New York University Abu Dhabi
Linda Li, Columbia University
Frank Furstenberg, University of Pennsylvania
Julien O. Teitler, Columbia University

This paper provides an overview on how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped family communication, exchanges, and family ties in a large metropolitan area in the US. It does so through analyses of the Robin Hood Poverty Tracker database on poverty dynamics in New York City, with a supplemental module including new variables on changes in kin ties since the beginning of the pandemic. We find that half of New Yorkers report that they increased communication with their relatives since March 2020 and 58.6% report speaking to non-coresident relatives multiple times a week during the pandemic. Increased communication was reported across kin networks with 31.1% reporting increased contact with siblings and 21.1% reporting increased contact with distal kin (aunts, uncles, and/or cousins). We further examine differences by race, ethnicity, gender, and immigration status and find that women and immigrants were more likely to report increased communication with family since the pandemic began. In addition, racial/ethnic groups which have been most impacted by the pandemic – Black and Hispanic New Yorkers - reported more increased communication with family than Whites. By using the pandemic as an extreme example of a life disruption, this paper illuminates how kin ties are activated as a resource in times of need and points to important variations in the frequency of communication with kin across socio-demographic groups.

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 Presented in Session 28. Flash Session: Covid and the Family