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Kinship Influences on Adult Mental Health During a Pandemic

Kinship dynamics are defined as patterns of local relatedness that “can change over time in predictable ways” (Croft et al., 2021, p. 1). Broadly divided into three main groups, they include population kinship dynamics, group kinship dynamics, and individual kinship dynamics. Kinship dynamics in animal populations have applicability to human relationships and are postulated to influence constantly changing social evolution (Croft et al., 2021). Researchers suggest that looking at a population from the perspective of kinship dynamics over the lifespan can yield new insights into human behavior (Croft et al., 2021). These insights can inform nursing interventions during a future pandemic. Lannutti and Bevan (2022) found, after developing a special issue collection on the effects of COVID-19 on relationships, that the 29 research studies they reviewed had three broad themes. These included (a) stress, turbulence, conflict, and coping; (b) loneliness, isolation, and mediated communication; and (c) reflecting and reframing in relationships. They concluded that the pandemic had significant effects on relationship science, which is familiar to psychiatric nurses who provide care to populations. Given this premise, how has the COVID-19 virus pandemic influenced and shaped kinship dynamics in patient populations evaluated and treated by nurses? While patient population is a broad term that could cover lifespan, this editorial will focus on adult populations and the ways psychiatric nurses understand influential kinship dynamics while providing care to a population that has experienced the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 2 years after the beginning of the pandemic, the world is still trying to understand changes in interpersonal dynamics of families and individuals precipitated by abruptly altered social contact in the context of work, academics, family relationships, and social groups (Lannutti & Bevan, 2022. Ang (2022) noted that social contact likely promotes adult well-being; this well-being was disrupted during the pandemic as social contact decreased and then changed. O’Connell and his colleagues (2022) noted that the pandemic changed the nature and function of social contact, necessitating the use of virtual social interaction in place of in-person interactions. This was viewed as challenging for older adults and those unfamiliar with technology. As Ang (2022) noted, the COVID-19 pandemic was experienced differently by various age groups, socioeconomic groups, and cultural groups. Adult well-being, as evidenced by mortality and mental health, is closely associated with having family and friends (Ang, 2022; Holt-Lunstad et al., 2017). Yet the pandemic disrupted the social relationships previously relied upon to maintain mental health. Ang (2022) questioned how the associations between social contact and well-being may have changed to cope with the isolation of the pandemic. Hajek and Konig (2021) noted the use of video calls and social media as a means of communicating with friends and family members. While variations in quality and type of virtual communication are inevitable, Gauthier and his colleagues (2021) emphasized that the pandemic differed for various population subgroups, exacerbating inequalities. These inequalities likely involved differences in race, culture, economic, or mental health. Mashima et al. (2022) found that a third of patients with a prior psychiatric diagnosis reported symptom deterioration associated with stress and daily life changes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychiatric nurses have seen this symptom deterioration as they assess and treat patients as part of broader psychiatric care. Patients with prior psychiatric issues before the pandemic experienced an increase in drug usage, new physical symptoms, generalized anxiety, poor adaptability to environmental change, and alterations in relationships (Mashima et al., 2022). Prinzing and others (2022) hypothesized that individual differences in trait resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic could be linked to mental health as the pandemic continued. Psychological resilience was defined as an individual’s ability to flexibly adapt to quickly changing situations while coping with adversity and recovering 1130033 JAPXXX10.1177/10783903221130033Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses AssociationPearson editorial2022