Family conversations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

In March of 2020, the lives of billions of people changed. The COVID-19 pandemic was unique as it was an extended event-without a clear end-that involved lockdowns, quarantines, and restrictions, but it was also a time when many parents and children spent large amounts of time together at home sheltering in place. In this special issue, we bring together research from diverse populations across the globe centered on family conversations about the COVID-19 pandemic. The research presented here showcases the breadth of research methods dedicated to family communication, spans developmental periods ranging from early childhood through adolescence, incorporates different constellations of family members, was collected at multiple time points across the pandemic, and examines the mechanistic role that familial conversations may have for child and family well-being. This work has important implications and applications for future widespread societal challenges and, taken together, provides compelling evidence that one way forward may be to focus efforts on resource-efficient and easy-to-implement interventions that target changes in family communication patterns prior to, during, and/or after significant life events. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).