New poll suggests most romantic relationships are surviving the pandemic

While the stay-at-home orders may be testing people's patience with their significant others, most romantic relationships are surviving and thriving in close quarters.

That's according to a new Monmouth University poll, which found that half of couples in the United States predict they'll come out of the coronavirus quarantine with a stronger relationship.

"It isn't surprising that so many people are satisfied in their relationship," said Gary Lewandowski, professor of psychology at Monmouth. "Our relationships are a key source of stability, and when the world feels uncertain, having your partner there to be your rock is assuring."

As people across the nation enter a third month of stay-at-home orders, cooped-up couples can take comfort in these findings. When the country was starting to shut down in March, they may have seen discouraging reports out of China, where divorce rates were said to be skyrocketing as that nation came out of its own weekslong lockdown.

The new study, however, indicates the pandemic might not be as bad for romantic relationships as originally feared, researchers said.

Of the people Monmouth surveyed — who were married, living with a significant other or otherwise in a romantic relationship — 59% said they were "extremely satisfied," while 33% classified themselves as "very satisfied." Few reported more neutral or negative feelings. Only 4% were "somewhat satisfied" and a measly 1% were "not too or not at all satisfied."

The "extremely satisfied" percentage was consistent with prepandemic polls, researchers said, but the "somewhat satisfied" and "not satisfied" responses were cut in half. While married people generally reported greater satisfaction with their relationships during this time, there were no major differences by age, race or gender.

Lewandowski said those findings make sense.

"The extra demands on the relationship from managing work-life balance, home-schooling kids and generally dealing with a global pandemic are balanced out by more quality time with the ones we love," he said. People make "a couple steps back, another few forward, leaving us very close to where we started."

While about a quarter of people said their relationship adds to the daily stress of living through a global pandemic, most people are optimistic about how the experience will affect the long-term success of their union. Similar poll results were reported after the Sept. 11 attacks, Lewandowski said.

That optimism is a promising sign, researchers said.

"Although the results likely represent some overconfidence by respondents, research shows that optimism benefits relationships," he said. "In fact, as long as couples have at least one optimist, both partners enjoy higher relationship satisfaction, even when one partner is less hopeful."