Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2026
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Health Science
First Advisor
Ranelle Nissen
Abstract
Lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered social functioning, creating an urgent need to understand the lived experience of isolation across life stages. This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study explored how age and time shaped social isolation during the pandemic. Sixteen participants from three-generation households—adolescents (n=5), adults (n=6), and older adults (n=5)—were interviewed approximately five years post-isolation. Recruitment occurred through ResearchMatch, and interviews were conducted between February and March 2025. Participants represented diverse racial, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds, with isolation periods ranging from 27 to 426 consecutive days (¯x = 165 ± 124 days). Data analysis followed Gadamer’s hermeneutic circle and Ricoeur’s principle of distanciation, using iterative coding and consensus-building to develop six themes: Changes in Daily Routines, Relationships, Self-Reflections, Perceptions of Others, Transition Phases, and Impact of Isolation. Findings were interpreted through a temporal-generational model tracing four phases—entry, adaptation, re-entry, and the long-tail—capturing how household adaptations evolved, dissolved, or became embedded over time. Themes revealed that collapsing external schedules prompted households to co-create new routines balancing predictability and flexibility, aligning with Family Systems Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory. Relationships reflected solidarity and strain, consistent with Intergenerational Solidarity and Ambivalence Models, while self-reflection demonstrated meaning-making and post-traumatic growth alongside distress, echoing the Growth–Distress Coexistence Model. Perceptions of others shifted through trust and value alignment, reflecting Social Identity Theory and Attribution Theory. Transition phases unfolded as iterative rather than linear, challenging assumptions of swift stabilization, while long-tail impacts included recalibrated routines, selective social engagement, and sustained digital reliance—adaptations intentionally preserved as resilience assets. These findings diverge from literature that frames resilience as a reactive return to normalcy, showing instead that households actively curated and safeguarded practices for future stability. Resilience emerged as an evolving, negotiated process shaped by generational priorities and intentional preservation. Five years later, participants reported lasting shifts in identity, priorities, and mental health, underscoring that isolation was not merely endured but actively lived, leaving lasting imprints on household culture and resilience trajectories.
Subject Categories
Other Medicine and Health Sciences | Social Psychology
Keywords
COVID-19 Pandemic, Hermeneutic Phenomenology, Intergenerational Dynamics, Multigenerational Households. Resilience, Social Isolation
Number of Pages
140
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Reedy, Renee, "COVID-19 Pandemic-Induced Social Isolation: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Exploration of Age and Time" (2026). Dissertations and Theses. 406.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/406