Chapter21: Reproductive System
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 6ATC
Related questions
Question
What are the major points and why are they important?
Transcribed Image Text:THE JOURNAL OF
SEXUAL MEDICINE
COVID-19
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sexual Behaviors: Findings
From a National Survey in the United States
Neil Gleason, MA,¹ Swagata Banik, PhD,2 Jesse Braverman, MMus, and Eli Coleman, PhD4
ABSTRACT
ORIGINAL RESEARCH & REVIEWS
disease 2019 (COVID-1
pandemic and the
Background: Studies from the first months of the cor
resulting lockdown and social distancing measures have shown that there have been decreases in sexual frequency
and relationship satisfaction.
Check for updates
Aim: To evaluate the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual behavior, relationship satisfaction,
and intimate partner violence in the United States using a large national convenience sample.
Methods: About 1,051 participants across the United States were recruited in October 2020 to complete a cross-
sectional online survey.
Outcomes: Participants were asked to retrospectively report their sexual behavior frequency, relationship satis-
faction, and intimate partner violence during the pandemic and prior to the pandemic
Results: There was a small but significant decrease in some retrospectively-reported partnered sexual activities,
and men reported a small increase in masturbation and pornography use. There was no evidence for a change in
relationship satisfaction or intimate partner violence, but both men and women reported a small decrease in sex-
ual pleasure, and women reported a small decrease in sexual desire. The sexual behaviors with greatest reduction
were casual sex, hookups, and number of partners, and the most diminished as aspect of sexual functioning was
sexual enjoyment. Depression symptoms, relationship status, and perceived importance of social distancing
emerged as predictors of these reductions. Less than half of individuals who engaged with casual sex partners
before the start of the pandemic ceased this behavior completely after the start of the pandemic. Individuals
waited on average 6-7 weeks before reengaging in casual sex.
Clinical Implications: These results inform public health response to the effects of the pandemic and add to our
understanding of how the pandemic has continued to impact sexual behavior.
Strengths and Limitations: This is the first known study to evaluate sexual behavior several months into the
COVID-19 pandemic using a large national sample. However, the results of this study are limited by its conve-
nience sampling method and cross-sectional design.
Conclusion: These results indicate that the changes in sexual behavior observed in the early months of the pan-
demic have continued, with small but significant decreases in many partnered sexual behaviors and a small
increase in men's solitary sexual behaviors. Gleason N, Banik S, Braverman J, et al. The Impact of the
COVID-19 Pandemic on Sexual Behaviors: Findings From a National Survey in the United States. J Sex
Med 2021;18:1851-1862.
Received March 19, 2021. Accepted August 17, 2021.
Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA;
²Center for Health Disparities Research & Education, Baldwin Wallace Uni-
versity, Berea, OH, USA;
³Independent Scholar, Montreal, Quebec, Canada;
Copyright © 2021, International Society of Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Key Words: COVID-19; Sexual Behavior; Sexual Functioning, Sexual Frequency; Relationship Satisfaction;
Sexual Satisfaction; Intimate Partner Violence
J Sex Med 2021;18:1851-1862
4Program in Human Sexuality, Department of Family Medicine and Com-
munity Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN,
USA
Copyright © 2021, International Society of Sexual Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2021.08.008
1851
![1852
INTRODUCTION
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-
CoV-2) was recognized in January 2020 as the agent responsible
for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), whose worldwide out-
break led to the declaration of a global pandemic by the World
Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020.¹ In response
to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the globe have
implemented strict measures limiting physical interpersonal con-
tact to reduce the spread of the virus. Human sexual behavior is
likely affected by such measures, which has raised concern among
sexual health experts regarding the negative outcomes the pan-
demic may have on sexual health.² Specifically, sexual health |
pro-
fessionals are concerned about increases in sexual dysfunction
and relationship conflict, as well as a negative impact on access to
sexual healthcare.³ In addition, there is concern that quarantine
measures and increases in relationship conflict may lead to an
increase in intimate
violence.
partner
Preliminary evidence has supported some of these experts'
concerns. For instance, one recent national survey in the United
States found that 34% of individuals in a relationship reported
relationship conflict due to COVID-19, and couples with more
conflict also reported greater decrease in solitary and partnered
sexual activities. Another survey of married individuals in the
United States found that 32% of respondents reported COVID-
19 was straining their marriage. However, 74% also reported
feeling the pandemic was strengthening their relationship, and
the impact on sexual frequency was mixed, with 32% reporting
an increase and 20% reporting a decrease. Interestingly, a recent
longitudinal survey found that stress related to COVID-19 pre-
dicted both increased relationship satisfaction as well as decreased
sex drive and sexual activity at both the within-person and
between-person levels.8
Other preliminary evidence, from both the United States and
other countries, has suggested that additional changes to sexual
behavior are occurring, such as decreased casual sex,¹0 and
increased use of pornography and sexting/cybersex. 12 The pan-
demic may also facilitate experimentation with new ways of relat-
ing to others socially as well as sexually. For example, Lehmiller
et al¹² found that engaging in novel sexual activities during the
pandemic (such as new sexual positions, sharing fantasies, or
using technology) was protective against the pandemic's deleteri-
ous effects on sexual satisfaction.
Nevertheless, there remain few studies examining the impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual health in the United States,
and many studies have methodological deficiencies including small
convenience samples that overrepresent or are limited to certain
demographics such as women LGBTQ+ individuals 9,12,13 or
married couples. In addition, studies published to date were
largely conducted in the first few months of the pandemic when
lockdown measures were just starting to take effect.
Since the public health response to this pandemic also
requires attention to sexual health as a fundamental pillar of
Gleason et al
physical and mental well-being, the aim of this study is to
analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the sexual behaviors,
sexual functioning, and intimate partner violence in the
United States. This study adds to the findings of previous
research by collecting a large national convenience sample
and examining a wide variety of sexual behaviors several
months into the pandemic. During this period (October
2020), individuals and government had been given numerous
months to adapt to the novel circumstances, and many states
in the United States had eased lockdown restrictions after
summer surges in COVID-19 cases had subsided. Thus, col-
lecting data in this period provides the opportunity to
observe how COVID-19 continued to impact sexual behav-
iors after several months. Given the exploratory nature of
this study and the limited prior research, specific a priori
hypotheses were not generated. Rather, this study aimed to
answer the question: How has the COVID-19 pandemic
impacted the frequency of various partnered and solitary sex-
ual behaviors, sexual functioning and satisfaction, relationship
satisfaction, and intimate partner violence?
METHODS
Participants
Approval for this study was obtained from [sponsor insti-
tution's] IRB. Participants were recruited from the Amazon
Mechanical Turk (Mturk) platform. This platform allows ver-
ified workers to accept tasks from requesters in exchange for
payments to their Mturk accounts. A total of 1,474 surveys
were started. Of these, 177 surveys were incomplete, 33 were
eliminated due to participants taking the survey twice, 250
surveys were rejected due to incorrect responses to the atten-
tion check questions, and 23 were excluded from analysis
because no sexual behaviors were reported. This resulted in a
sample of 1,051 participants from 48 U.S. states. Full
descriptive statistics for participant demographics are listed in
Table 1.
Procedure
Mturk workers were recruited to complete the survey and
were compensated $5 USD after completion of a valid survey.
After giving consent, participants were asked questions about
how frequently they engaged in various sexual behaviors before
and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. When consider-
ing their behavior before and after the start of the pandemic,
they were asked to use the reference date of March 11, 2020 as
the start of the pandemic, as this was the date the World Health
Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Participants
then completed the other study measures and demographics
questions.
J Sex Med 2021;18:1851-1862](/v2/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.bartleby.com%2Fqna-images%2Fquestion%2F5283a1e2-b3ef-4b51-af94-01fd271d3b37%2Fb8af1f00-3267-4633-82a9-f46242077186%2F8638cvb_processed.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Transcribed Image Text:1852
INTRODUCTION
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-
CoV-2) was recognized in January 2020 as the agent responsible
for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), whose worldwide out-
break led to the declaration of a global pandemic by the World
Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020.¹ In response
to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the globe have
implemented strict measures limiting physical interpersonal con-
tact to reduce the spread of the virus. Human sexual behavior is
likely affected by such measures, which has raised concern among
sexual health experts regarding the negative outcomes the pan-
demic may have on sexual health.² Specifically, sexual health |
pro-
fessionals are concerned about increases in sexual dysfunction
and relationship conflict, as well as a negative impact on access to
sexual healthcare.³ In addition, there is concern that quarantine
measures and increases in relationship conflict may lead to an
increase in intimate
violence.
partner
Preliminary evidence has supported some of these experts'
concerns. For instance, one recent national survey in the United
States found that 34% of individuals in a relationship reported
relationship conflict due to COVID-19, and couples with more
conflict also reported greater decrease in solitary and partnered
sexual activities. Another survey of married individuals in the
United States found that 32% of respondents reported COVID-
19 was straining their marriage. However, 74% also reported
feeling the pandemic was strengthening their relationship, and
the impact on sexual frequency was mixed, with 32% reporting
an increase and 20% reporting a decrease. Interestingly, a recent
longitudinal survey found that stress related to COVID-19 pre-
dicted both increased relationship satisfaction as well as decreased
sex drive and sexual activity at both the within-person and
between-person levels.8
Other preliminary evidence, from both the United States and
other countries, has suggested that additional changes to sexual
behavior are occurring, such as decreased casual sex,¹0 and
increased use of pornography and sexting/cybersex. 12 The pan-
demic may also facilitate experimentation with new ways of relat-
ing to others socially as well as sexually. For example, Lehmiller
et al¹² found that engaging in novel sexual activities during the
pandemic (such as new sexual positions, sharing fantasies, or
using technology) was protective against the pandemic's deleteri-
ous effects on sexual satisfaction.
Nevertheless, there remain few studies examining the impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual health in the United States,
and many studies have methodological deficiencies including small
convenience samples that overrepresent or are limited to certain
demographics such as women LGBTQ+ individuals 9,12,13 or
married couples. In addition, studies published to date were
largely conducted in the first few months of the pandemic when
lockdown measures were just starting to take effect.
Since the public health response to this pandemic also
requires attention to sexual health as a fundamental pillar of
Gleason et al
physical and mental well-being, the aim of this study is to
analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the sexual behaviors,
sexual functioning, and intimate partner violence in the
United States. This study adds to the findings of previous
research by collecting a large national convenience sample
and examining a wide variety of sexual behaviors several
months into the pandemic. During this period (October
2020), individuals and government had been given numerous
months to adapt to the novel circumstances, and many states
in the United States had eased lockdown restrictions after
summer surges in COVID-19 cases had subsided. Thus, col-
lecting data in this period provides the opportunity to
observe how COVID-19 continued to impact sexual behav-
iors after several months. Given the exploratory nature of
this study and the limited prior research, specific a priori
hypotheses were not generated. Rather, this study aimed to
answer the question: How has the COVID-19 pandemic
impacted the frequency of various partnered and solitary sex-
ual behaviors, sexual functioning and satisfaction, relationship
satisfaction, and intimate partner violence?
METHODS
Participants
Approval for this study was obtained from [sponsor insti-
tution's] IRB. Participants were recruited from the Amazon
Mechanical Turk (Mturk) platform. This platform allows ver-
ified workers to accept tasks from requesters in exchange for
payments to their Mturk accounts. A total of 1,474 surveys
were started. Of these, 177 surveys were incomplete, 33 were
eliminated due to participants taking the survey twice, 250
surveys were rejected due to incorrect responses to the atten-
tion check questions, and 23 were excluded from analysis
because no sexual behaviors were reported. This resulted in a
sample of 1,051 participants from 48 U.S. states. Full
descriptive statistics for participant demographics are listed in
Table 1.
Procedure
Mturk workers were recruited to complete the survey and
were compensated $5 USD after completion of a valid survey.
After giving consent, participants were asked questions about
how frequently they engaged in various sexual behaviors before
and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. When consider-
ing their behavior before and after the start of the pandemic,
they were asked to use the reference date of March 11, 2020 as
the start of the pandemic, as this was the date the World Health
Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Participants
then completed the other study measures and demographics
questions.
J Sex Med 2021;18:1851-1862
Expert Solution
Introduction
While, a study was conducted to assess the impact of Covid 19 pandemic on sexual functioning, sexual behaviour, relationship satisfaction and intimate partner violence using a large national sample in United States . The results of this study was limited by its Convenience sampling method and cross section designs. Partners were asked to re - evaluate their sexual behaviour, satisfaction and intimate partner prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic.
Step by step
Solved in 3 steps
Recommended textbooks for you
Understanding Nutrition (MindTap Course List)
Health & Nutrition
ISBN:
9781337392693
Author:
Eleanor Noss Whitney, Sharon Rady Rolfes
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
Understanding Nutrition (MindTap Course List)
Health & Nutrition
ISBN:
9781337392693
Author:
Eleanor Noss Whitney, Sharon Rady Rolfes
Publisher:
Cengage Learning