The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic created various challenges for individuals and families across the globe. Many countries went into a state of disaster and applied strict lockdown regulations to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Although the sudden changes in livelihoods impacted families globally, this research is limited to understanding how families connected and resolved conflict during the pandemic. The current study therefore aimed at exploring how family dynamics and resilience in South African families were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was conducted qualitatively in the Western Cape, South Africa, with 31 participants. The results indicated that families in the Western Cape had trouble adjusting to the imposed restrictions; however, some of these families used the time they had together to adapt and find new ways of building their relationships and strengthening their bonds. The main themes indicated that the most difficult challenges were the children’s schooling, financial impact from job losses, and separation from extended family members due to restrictions on movement. Furthermore, familial support and connecting as a family through open and honest communication helped the families remain resilient and fostered positive relationships.

The recent acceleration in divorce rates and diversification of nuclear families has resulted in an increase in single-parent households. Divorce is one of the most adverse events in a child’s life. Various literature highlights the detrimental effects of parental divorce on children and adolescents, but few studies have emphasized possible support strategies or interventions available to assist in the mental health of adolescents after divorce. The objective of this study was to gain an overview of the strategies and interventions available to adolescents exposed to parental divorce. The current study employed a scoping review method to evaluate the coverage of literature on strategies available to support adolescent mental health after parental divorce. The following databases were searched: Academic Search Premier, Africa-Wide Information, African Journal Online, CINAHL, and JSTOR. A total of eight studies were included in this review. The results show that most mental health interventions target the known mediator of risk, such as parenting problems or family conflict. Although the parents, caregivers, or teachers of these adolescents reported improvement after the intervention, the adolescents reported no effect.