Examining the Impact of Turkish Couples’ Intimacy Levels in Romantic Relationship on Children’s Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Ekmel Gecer 1 * , Hatice Kubra Tongar 2 , Lutfiye Sogutlu 1 , Muslu Kazim Korez 3 , Murat Yildirim 4 , Omer Akgul 1 , Enise Akgul 2 , Kubra Baysal 2
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1 Psychology Department, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, TURKEY2 Independent Researcher, TURKEY3 Medical School, Selcuk University, Konya, TURKEY4 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, Agri, TURKEY* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Intimacy refers to closeness and an expressive and personal romantic relationship between couples/partners. More importantly, intimacy in romantic relationships is known to influence children’s well-being and mental health. Couples who suffer from a lack of intimacy in their relationship are more vulnerable to psychophysiological disorders, depression and other non-psychiatric disorders and these disorders may have an impact on the children living with them. Under today’s circumstances, little is known about the link of intimacy in romantic relationships with children’s anxiety particularly within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between intimacy in romantic and children’s anxiety levels during COVID-19 disease.
Participants were 12,126 Turkish couples (mean age=35.27±5.37) who completed the intimacy in romantic relationship scale and state-trait anxiety inventory for children online. Socio-demographic data form was created to measures variables such as age, gender, and the COVID-19 experiences. The results suggest that single couples were found to have a better romantic relationship than married couples. Self-disclosure, physical attraction, support, and trust were found to be related to anxiety levels of children. This pattern of results highlights the importance of intimacy in a romantic relationship on children anxiety levels in the face of adversity which have important implications for research and practice.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Original Article

ELECTRON J GEN MED, Volume 19, Issue 3, June 2022, Article No: em370

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/11875

Publication date: 07 Mar 2022

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