An Investigation of Sexual and Relationship Adjustment During COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the mitigation measures put in place have resulted in universal disruption in the usual ways of life for individuals. The current study sought to investigate how aspects of sexual health (well-being and functioning) and relationship satisfaction changed or remained stable during the pandemic. During two separate time points (Time 1 including Time 1 and a retrospective baseline, Time 2), participants completed online measures of sexual well-being (sexual pleasure, partnered and solitary orgasm frequency, sexual distress), sexual functioning, and relationship satisfaction. Participants reported slight declines in sexual pleasure, frequency of orgasms with a partner, and frequency of solitary orgasms from pre-COVID-19 (retrospective baseline) to Time 1, with no significant differences in sexual distress and relationship satisfaction. For individuals with vulvas, sexual functioning improved from Time 1 to Time 2, whereas no significant differences in sexual functioning were observed for individuals with penises. Aspects of sexual health and relational satisfaction did not sufficiently change across time points to be considered meaningful health outcome changes. Given that minimal disruptions were noted in pre-COVID-19 to COVID-19 sexuality, these results highlight the potential resiliency of individuals' sexuality when facing sudden changes in their daily lives. Implications of COVID-19's effects on sexual well-being and relationship satisfaction research are broadly discussed.

Is There a Direct Link between Sexual Satisfaction and Restrictions during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

“…However, the results of this study did not confirm a direct association between restriction level and sexual satisfaction among Polish participants. The findings are in line with the other longitudinal study from Canada [18] and cross-sectional research from China [39] and Germany [42], which also did not find any changes in sexual satisfaction during the lockdown as compared to the pre-pandemic period. Nomejko et al [15] argue that sexual dysfunction is not always related to lower sexual satisfaction.…”

“…To summarize, the study did not find a direct relationship between sexual satisfaction and pandemic-related restrictions assessed using the stringency index, which is in line with some previous studies, showing no change in sexual satisfaction during the pandemic [18,39,42]. Pennanen-Iire et al [45] argued that the pandemic indirectly affects sexual function.…”

“…Research on changes in sexual behavior during the pandemic indicated ambiguous results. Decrease in frequency of sexual activity and casual sex, or increased risk of sexual dysfunction, masturbation and pornography use, were reported in adults from Brasil [17], Canada [18], China [19][20][21][22][23], Egypt [24], France [25], Germany [26][27][28], Indonesia [29], Italy [30], Poland [31,32], Singapore [33], United Kingdom (UK) [34], and United States of America (USA) [35,36]. A decrease in sexual satisfaction was reported during the pandemic (when compared to pre-pandemic time) among healthcare professionals from Brasil [17], adults from Egypt [24], France [25], Germany [28], Kenya [37], and Singapore [33]; among patients with infertility from China [19]; and among women from Poland [31], Italy [30], and the USA [35].…”

“…By contrast, in comparison to the period before the pandemic, the frequency of sexual activity increased during the lockdown in Bangladesh, India, Nepal [38], China [39], Singapore [40], in seven countries of the European Union (the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, France and Sweden) and Turkey [41], in a nationwide sample of men from Germany [42], and in a large convenience sample of men from the United States of America [43]. Self-reported sexual satisfaction did not change between waves of the COVID-19 pandemic among adults from Canada [18] and China [39]. Furthermore, an increase in sexual satisfaction during the pandemic was found in a large sample of Polish adults [44] and men from Germany [42].…”

Guest Editors’ Introduction to the Special Section on the Impact of COVID-19 on Sexual Health and Behaviors

“…The final two papers in this set examined sexual relationship health and adjustment during COVID-19. Gauvin et al ( 2022 ) concluded that people in relationships were relatively resilient to the COVID-19 pandemic, with only slight declines in sexual pleasure, frequency of orgasms with a partner, and frequency of solitary orgasms compared to retrospective recall of pre-pandemic levels. Finally, Griffin et al ( 2022 ) found that self-reported sexual activity and the number of sexual partners decreased during the first wave of the pandemic in a sample 1051 LGBTQ + adults in the USA, but sexual activity was impacted by living arrangement and partner status.…”