Arranging Everyday Life and Livelihood During the COVID-19 Epidemic 

Project Results

The project used writings collected during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic to study the experiences of parents and young people over 15 in managing their daily lives and persisting from day to day in exceptional circumstances. The results show that the participants’ experiences of how well they could manage were strongly divided. The Covid-19 crisis may have also led to the emergence of new groups of vulnerable people. Due to the restrictions imposed during the pandemic, young people had fewer opportunities for social bonding, which was reflected in weaker efforts to establish a sense of belonging. At its worst, this led to passivity among the young people who participated in the study, which can have long-term consequences for their integration into society. The writings submitted by parents showed that parents drew strength from both societal support and well-functioning social support networks to boost their coping skills and resilience. On the other hand, daily life became more stressful during the pandemic for families with pre-pandemic stressors such as health issues and financial problems whose survival was already heavily dependent on societal support before the pandemic. Resilience is also hampered by certain structural barriers, such as the availability of services and the long-term impact of the crisis on individuals, families and society as a whole. The study also highlighted the emergence of potential new at-risk groups that established risk indicators may not be able to account for.