Psychological, Socio-Demographic, and Logistical Factors Associated With Changes in Sex Life After Over a Year Into the COVID-19 Pandemic

Liza Berdychevsky; Damien Cavanaugh; Jacinda K Dariotis

doi:10.1080/19317611.2023.2193568

Psychological, Socio-Demographic, and Logistical Factors Associated With Changes in Sex Life After Over a Year Into the COVID-19 Pandemic

Int J Sex Health. 2023 Apr 28;35(2):263-283. doi: 10.1080/19317611.2023.2193568. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Liza Berdychevsky¹, Damien Cavanaugh², Jacinda K Dariotis³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism; The Family Resiliency Center; Center for Social and Behavioral Science; Center on Health, Aging, and Disability; Health Care Engineering Systems Center; Discovery Partners Institute, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA.
² Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA.
³ Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Family Resiliency Center, The Beckman Institute, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA.

Abstract

This study examined changes in sex life about a year into the COVID-19 pandemic for both partnered and non-partnered individuals and identified the determinants of these changes. The results of an online survey (N = 675) reflect a significant decrease in the frequency of intimate and sexual behaviors and declines in sexual desire, quality, intimacy, diversity, and satisfaction. This study also showed that socio-demographic characteristics, psychological factors, and the logistical impacts of the pandemic explain trends in people's sex lives during the pandemic. This study contributes to understanding the long(er)-term nature, scope, and determinants of changes in sex life during the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19/coronavirus; pandemic’s impacts on sex life; quality of sex life; satisfaction with sex life; sex frequency.

Grants and funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.