Academic Womxn and Their Partners: Managing Scholarly Expectations During the Coronavirus Pandemic With the Support of Intimate Relationships in Quarantine

Brown, Kristina S.; Bender, Sara Vega Olga Hensley Kasitz Deanna L.

Objective Background Method Findings Conclusion Implications The purpose of this study was to explore how academic womxn experience their partnerships during quarantine and to determine the impact of those relational dynamics on scholarly productivity.Past literature indicates traumatic events and extended quarantine is associated with negative mental health outcomes. While primary partnerships serve as one protective factor, extended quarantine with one's partner introduces novel stress to a relationship, which may have unintended outcomes, including those that affect productivity.An online survey was provided to academic womxn invested in scholarship. Responses from participants who identified as in a relationship (n = 67) were coded using thematic analysis through a feminist lens.Participants highlighted three major themes across their responses: time and space, communication, and needs. These findings reflected stressors typical within couple relationships but highlighted important considerations for partners of academic womxn in support of their scholarly activity during quarantine.Though the flexibility available during the pandemic for academic womxn provided time and space for some to nurture their relationship as well as focus on scholar activity, this was not consistent across partners.Findings show the mixed experiences of partners and confirm the importance of communication, especially about time and space and professional needs. Recommendations can be extrapolated to other processional and career partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Family Relations is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)