Sexual Desire in the Time of COVID-19: How COVID-Related Stressors Are Associated with Sexual Desire in Romantic Relationships

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting social distancing measures have caused widespread social and economic disruptions, resulting in spikes in unemployment and financial instability, along with drastic changes to people's ability to feel socially connected. Many of the changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are risk factors for depressive symptoms, which are associated with lower levels of sexual desire. The current research (N = 4,993) examined whether responses to external stressors brought on by COVID-19 (i.e., financial concern, worry, loneliness, stress) were associated with sexual desire among a multi-national sample of people in relationships (Studies 1-2), and whether this association was, in part, due to reports of depressive symptoms (Study 2). In the period immediately following the onset of the pandemic, more financial concern (Study 1) and worry (Study 2) were associated with higher sexual desire, while other factors, like stress (Studies 1-2), were associated with lower desire. We also followed a subset of participants every two weeks during the initial stages of the pandemic and at times when people reported greater stress, loneliness, financial strain, or worry than their average, they reported greater depressive symptoms, which was, in turn, associated with lower sexual desire. Results suggest that the social isolation and stress resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have mixed associations with sexual desire at the onset of the pandemic. But over time, when people report heightened COVID-related stressors, they tend to report lower sexual desire for their partner, in part because these stressors are associated with more depressive symptoms.

Keywords: COVID-19; Financial strain; Loneliness; Romantic relationships; Sexual desire; Stress.

Fig. 1

People’s reports of depressive symptoms as a mediator of the association between people’s reports of stress on their sexual desire over the course of the pandemic

Fig. 2

People’s reports of depressive symptoms as a mediator of the association between people’s reports of loneliness on their sexual desire over the course of the pandemic

Fig. 3

People’s reports of depressive symptoms as a mediator of the association between people’s reports of financial strain on their sexual desire over the course of the pandemic People’s reports of depressive symptoms as a mediator of the association between people’s reports of worry on their sexual desire over the course of the pandemic

Fig. 4

People’s reports of depressive symptoms as a mediator of the association between people’s reports of financial strain on their sexual desire over the course of the pandemic