Jim Memmott

Thrown together as perhaps never before, families are being tested here and throughout the world in a new age of coronavirus that has triggered worry about health and jobs.

Ronald Rogge, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Rochester who runs a lab that researches how couples interact, is hoping to find out these families are meeting the test.

Almost 600 parents from nearly every state have already taken an online survey drawn up by Rogge’s lab that asks questions about how the family has reacted to the isolation required to help lessen the spread of the virus. Rogge hopes to have 5,000 respondents.

He’s looking for co-parents or single parents who have at least one 5-to-18-year-old child living at home.

The initial survey takes 35 to 45 minutes survey and offers a chance at a $250 Amazon gift card. Participants then can also choose to take shorter weekly surveys for the next the next four months. To access the survey go to: http://couples-research.com/covid19-study/.

“We know this crisis is a truly unique situation where everyone is trapped in their homes for the good of everyone,” Rogge says. “We’re looking at how parents are getting along with each other, with their children, and how the kids are doing. We’re also looking at the ways that mindfulness and flexibility might help parents and families tolerate difficult circumstances.”

The results should show not just how the pandemic is affecting family dynamics, but how family dynamics affect the response to the pandemic.

It’s early days for the project, but the initial responses indicated that parents were spending several hours a day monitoring the news of the pandemic, just as they were devoting hours to social media. Most said they were social distancing. At the same time, most were not wearing masks while outside, though that could be changing given new federal recommendations.

Some of the most valuable information from the survey may come from the weekly follow-up responses, as they will document how family dynamics change as the pandemic moves through and then beyond certain areas.

In the end – and it’s hard to know when the end will come – the survey should offer insight into an extraordinary and pressured time.

“And I’m just hoping this study will help us learn lessons so we can do a better job if a crisis like this comes along again,” Rogge says.

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From his home in Livingston County, retired senior editor Jim Memmott will document the new normal of living in a socially distant world. He can be reached at jmemmott@gannett.com or write Box 274, Geneseo, NY, 14454