Covid crisis bringing Thai families, spouses closer, survey finds
An opinion survey found that the Covid-19 crisis has brought families closer together, with family members contacting each other more often.
The survey was conducted by Suan Dusit University on 1,143 respondents from April 4-12.
When asked how often they talk to their family members now, 63.25 per cent said they did it every day, while 18.37 per cent said they called at least twice or three times a week, though 15.92 per cent said they rarely spoke to their family members.
When asked who they turned to in times of trouble or crisis, 32.31 per cent said they turned to their spouse, while 21.51 per cent turned to their friend and 18 per cent preferred to seek advice from parents.
Up to 70.71 per cent of the respondents said chats with their families covered general topics, 62.88 per cent talked about health and the ongoing Covid-19 situation, while 60.33 per cent discussed food. The respondents were given more than one choice for this question.
When asked how they benefited from these chats with their families, 67.28 per cent said it brought them together, while 62.52 per cent said the chats strengthened ties and 61.55 per cent said they helped them solve problems. Again, the respondents were allowed more than one choice for this question.
As for why sometimes family members do not contact each other, 56.36 per cent put it down to the lack of time or clashing work schedules, 55.12 per cent said it was due to different views and attitudes, while 47.08 per cent put it down to disagreements. Respondents were allowed more than one choice to this question as well.