Australians living with spouses or partners are more satisfied with their relationships than those living apart, according to a new report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS).
In the Institute’s Report no. 2: Relationships within the family, Senior Research Fellow at AIFS and Report co-author, Jennifer Baxter said the focus of the short snapshot project was on relationship satisfaction and quality.
Dr Baxter said the Report used data captured at May-June 2021 in AIFS’s third Families in Australia Survey.
“The great majority of respondents were very satisfied or satisfied with their relationship with their spouse or partner (82 per cent), with satisfaction highest among older respondents,” Dr Baxter said.
“Couples living apart were somewhat less satisfied with their relationship than those living together, with some of this related to the constraints and barriers contributing to their living arrangements.
“Barriers included (COVID-19) restrictions and border closures that kept some couples apart.”
Dr Baxter said parents mostly reported positively on the quality of the relationship with co-resident children and on how well children got along.
She said some people had more difficulties with their relationships, related to particular child or family characteristics.
“When reporting on the household more broadly, and levels of conflict and how everyone gets along, most indicated their situation was positive with one in 10 saying there was ‘quite a bit’ or ‘a great deal’ of conflict in the household and about one in five saying there was some conflict,” she said.
“Most said there was a little (46 per cent) or none (25 per cent).”
Dr Baxter said respondents living with a parent or other relative were more likely to rate the household relationships as ‘fair’, ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ (42 per cent) and more likely to experience conflict (52 per cent) reporting ‘some’, ‘quite a bit’ or ‘a great deal’.
She said family relationships were varied and complex, with some respondents indicating that they had more challenged relationships and various strains on relationships were reported.
“The COVID-19 pandemic, and associated lockdowns and restrictions, is only one of a number of factors that have impacted family relationships,” Dr Baxter said.
AIFS’s 18-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
