Financial Effect on the Adjustment of Spouses during COVID-19 Lockdown

The objectives this study was to investigate whether individuals suffer from fear of financial situation and uncertainty, to investigate the level of adjustment of spouses, to investigate support extended by the other family members and to analyse whether the support extended by the other family members moderates the relationship between individuals' fears on financial situation/uncertainty and the level of adjustment of spouses. The data was collected from an online survey which was conducted from a random sample of 300 adults aged 25 years and older residing in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. A conceptual model was developed and variables such as fear of financial situation, uncertainty and extended family support available for spouses were reviewed in relation to the adjustment of spouses. Four hypotheses were established. Statistical analysis was performed to identify moderator effect of resources available for spouses. It was identified that COVID-19 created fear of financial situation and uncertainty among married couples and, it was concluded that support provided from their respective families contributed to adjustment of Sri Lankan spouses. A key limitation was that there was no equal participation from both genders. Future research may include replicating the same study with a more diverse sample. Future researchers can conduct a follow-up study to identify long-term effects of COVID-19 on Sri Lankan married couples.