Date of Conferral

4-24-2025

Date of Award

April 2025

Degree

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.)

School

Psychology

Advisor

Sally Zengaro

Abstract

Measures such as social distancing and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic meant parents balanced their roles as educators, tech support, and employees in shared home offices. This qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the work-life balance conflicts parents of early adolescents faced during the COVID-19 lockdowns, focusing on how parents managed the challenges of pandemic restrictions and their strategies for coping with cognitive, emotional, and physical fatigue for themselves and their families. This study was guided by the transactional theory of stress and coping. Twelve female parents were virtually interviewed, selected based on their having early adolescent children at home, working either full-time or part-time, and experiencing work-life balance challenges during the COVID-19 lockdown. The data collected from the interviews were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), which generated eight themes to address the research questions: (a) navigating through challenges related to work-life balance during COVID, (b) existential challenges influenced psychological well-being, (c) family influence created work-life balance conflicts during COVID lockdowns, (d) social support played a significant role during periods of extended social isolation, (e) gender roles contributed to an imbalance in the home, (f) employment uncertainty and predictability added new challenges, (g) adapting to a new work environment-working remotely presented challenges, and (h) preexisting and unresolved relationship problems challenged work-life balance. The findings have potential for enhancing societal well-being by improving individual and communal conditions. Medical and other professionals can be trained to identify stress predictors.

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