Two new studies provide evidence that the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in changes in sexual behavior. The preliminary research provides a glimpse into how the disease is impacting people’s sex lives around the world.
As a result of the novel coronavirus outbreak, many countries went into lockdown, restricting travel outside the home and closing businesses. The researchers were interested in examining about this sudden change in daily life had impacted sex.
An online study of 459 individuals in China, published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, found that 1 in 4 participants reported experiencing a reduction in sexual desire related to the coronavirus pandemic. But 18% of men and 8% of women said they had experienced an increase in sexual desire.
About 37% of participants reported a decrease in sexual frequency, while 32% of men and 39% of women reported a reduction in sexual satisfaction.
The participants were surveyed in mid-March, while China was under a strict lockdown.
“In general, at the height of the COVID-19 epidemic, we found that both sexual activities and sexual satisfaction of young men and women decreased. Low sexual desire and unsatisfying partner relationships were significant factors affecting sexual activities, which is in agreement with previous studies,” the researchers said.
“In addition, it is undeniable that strict physical restrictions have directly impacted the possibility of having new sexual partners and risky sexual behaviors. However, in the supplementary question, 32% of men and 18% of women indicated that they were inclined to increase the number of sexual partners or risky sexual behaviors once the epidemic ended,” the researchers added.
In another online survey of 120 married individuals from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, researchers found that 45% of participants reported that the coronavirus lockdowns had caused some impact in their sexual life. The findings have been published in Psychiatry Research.
Most of the participants said they had sexual intercourse with their spouse 1 to 5 times a week before the lockdowns, and this was mostly unchanged during the lockdowns.
But about 3.3% of the participants’ indicated that sexual activity had increased from 1 to 5 times a week to more than five times a week after being locked down. This increase could be the result of “seeking intimacy and reassurance, or simply having more time to spend with their partner,” the researchers said.
The survey also found that 50% of the participants believed the lockdown had positively affected their emotional bond with their spouse, while about 47% said there was no change and about 3% believed it had a negative effect.
“During this COVID-19 lockdown state, there are various factors that are likely to influence the intimacy resulting in an alteration in sexual behaviours. The factors that may facilitate sexual intimacy are – increased time spent together, little opportunity for recreation, less work burden, less social or family obligations. Similarly, there are several factors that may adversely affect the sexual life are – more chance of interpersonal conflicts, stress, lack of privacy and medical issues,” the researchers said.
The study, “Changes in sexual behaviors of young women and men during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak: a convenience sample from the epidemic area“, was authored by Weiran Li, Guanjian Li, Cong Xin, Yaochi Wang, and Sen Yang.
The study, “Does COVID-19 pandemic affect sexual behaviour? A cross-sectional, cross-national online survey“, was authored by S.M. Yasir, Arafat, Angi Alradi Mohamed, Sujita Kumar Kar, Pawan Sharma, and Russell Kabir.