Difficulties in the Close Social Relationships of Slovenian Students during the Covid-19 pandemic

Oct 15, 2026

Study examines difficulties experienced by Slovenian upper-secondary school and university students aged 18–25 in close social relationships during the Covid-19 pandemic. It compares reported difficulties across six domains—friend relationships, forming a new intimate partnership, sexuality, current intimate relationship, parental control and living with parents, and family conflict—between the pre-pandemic period and the first two pandemic waves. Results show increases across all six domains during government quarantine periods, with friends and new intimate relationships most affected, and differences linked to education, gender, relationship status, and living situation changes. Findings inform educators about students’ socio-emotional life in non-normative events.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Literature Review

Close Social Relationships in Late Teens and Early Twenties

Doi: 10.26529/cepsj.1400 Difficulties in the Close Social Relationships of Slovenian Students during the Covid-19 pandemic Melita Puklek Levpušček*1 and Mojca Poredoš2 • This study examined the difficulties experienced by Slovenian uppersecondary school and university students aged 18 to 25 in their close social relationships during the Covid-19 pandemic. We examined the extent of social difficulties in six domains (relationships with friends, establishing a new relationship with an intimate partner, sexuality, relationship with a current intimate partner, parental control and living with parents, and family conflict) in the pre-pandemic period and in the first two waves of the pandemic. We were also interested in whether demographic variables were related to the students’ perceived social difficulties. The results showed that the severity of reported difficulties increased in all six domains during the government-imposed quarantine periods, with relationships with friends and the opportunity to establish new intimate relationships being the most affected. In addition, we found differences in the extent of perceived difficulties related to educational status, gender, intimate relationship, and change in living situations. The study offers insight into the socio-emotional life of students during a non-normative life event that educators should acknowledge. Keywords: close social relationships, difficulties, family, friends, intimate partners, Covid-19 pandemic 1 *Corresponding Author. Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; [Melita.Puklek@ff.uni-lj.si](Melita.Puklek@ff.uni-lj.si). 2 Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. 164 difficulties in the close social relationships of slovenian students during ... Težave slovenskih dijakov in študentov v tesnih medosebnih odnosih med pandemijo covida-19 Melita Puklek Levpušček in Mojca Poredoš • V študiji sva preučevali težave v tesnih medosebnih odnosih, s kateri-mi so se spoprijemali slovenski dijaki in študentje, stari od 18 do 25 let, med pandemijo covida-19 . Primerjali sva stopnjo težav v tesnih odnosih na področjih odnosov s prijatelji, vzpostavljanja nove partnerske zveze, spolnosti, trenutnega partnerskega odnosa, starševskega nadzora in prebivanja s starši ter družinskih konfliktov v času pred pandemijo in vprvih dveh valovih pandemije. Zanimala naju je tudi povezanost nekaterih demografskih spremenljivk z zaznanimi težavami v tesnih odnosih. Rezultati so pokazali, da se je stopnja zaznanih težav v času dveh valov pandemije povišala na vseh šestih področjih odnosov, najbolj na področju odnosov s prijatelji in vzpostavljanja nove partnerske zveze. Stopnja zaznanih težav je bila povezana tudi z izobraževalno stopnjoudeležencev, s spolom, prisotnostjo ali z odsotnostjo partnerskega razmerja in s spremembo prebivališča. Študija nudi strokovnim delavcemna področju vzgoje in izobraževanja vpogled v socialno-emocionalno življenje mladih v času nenormativnega življenjskega dogodka in omogoča razmislek o intervencijah ob podobnih dogodkih v prihodnosti. Ključne besede: tesni medosebni odnosi, težave, družina, prijatelji, intimni partnerji, pandemija covida-19 Introduction Establishing and maintaining close interpersonal relationships is important at all stages of development but is especially intense with regard to making commitments to others in a variety of social contexts from late adolescence through the twenties. Young people in their late teens and early twenties face three major developmental tasks associated with close interpersonal relationships: (a) the transformation of family roles and relationships and psychological individuation from parents,(b) the development of interdependent relationships with peers (mutual and lasting friendships with acceptance and respect for the independence of each in the relationship), and (c) the development of intimate partnerships (Conger, 1991; Zupančič, 2020). The Covid-19 pandemic decla

FAQs

Which student age group and social relationship context does the study focus on?

The study focuses on Slovenian upper-secondary school and university students aged 18 to 25 and their close social relationships during the Covid-19 pandemic.

How were difficulties measured across the pandemic timeline?

Difficulties were assessed by comparing the pre-pandemic period with the first two waves of the pandemic, focusing on six domains of relationships.

What changes in difficulties were observed during quarantine periods?

Reported difficulties increased in all six domains during government-imposed quarantine periods, with relationships with friends and forming new intimate relationships showing the strongest impact.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by A glass of water