Effect of the Lockdown Due to COVID-19 on Sexuality: The Mediating Role of Sexual Practices and Arousal in the Relationship Between Gender and Sexual Self-Esteem.

The scientific evidence suggests that COVID-19 is affecting much more than the physical health of individuals, particularly in places where a lockdown has been established to slow down the spread of the virus. An area that may be particularly affected is human sexuality. This study explored the impact of the situation generated by COVID-19 on the sexuality of 201 adults living in Spain. We collected data cross-sectionally through an online survey during the month of April 2020. Results showed a reduction of sexual self-esteem and a decrease in the number of interpersonal sexual relations, although the frequency of masturbation and the consumption of pornography did not vary compared to previous levels. A regression analysis showed that masturbation, the ability to maintain sexual arousal and interpersonal sex were mediating variables in the relationship between gender - specifically being male - and having higher sexual self-esteem during the lockdown. This study provides new insight on the relevance of certain sexual behaviors in a pandemic situation with considerable social restrictions and on the effect of this situation on sexual self-esteem and arousal. It brings some clarity on the relationship between sexual self-esteem and gender, about which there is currently no consensus in the scientific literature.

Predictores de la satisfacción sexual durante el confinamiento por COVID-19 en España / Predictors of sexual satisfaction during COVID-19 confinement in Spain

Esta investigación, formada por dos estudios, tiene como objetivo general analizar el impacto de la COVID-19 en la salud sexual de 347 adultos residentes en España. El estudio 1, centrado en prácticas sexuales no presenciales (sexteo [sexting] y pornografía), puso de manifiesto niveles de satisfacción sexual similares en hombres y mujeres, aunque diferentes según la edad en interacción con el consumo de pornografía y el estatus marital. El estudio 2 abordó los cambios producidos con respecto a los seis meses previos, indicando que el mantenimiento de la satisfacción sexual no parece depender del sexo, pero sí de la edad en interacción con el sexo presencial, del estatus marital y del sexo individual en interacción con un adecuado funcionamiento del interés sexual. Ante el desafío que está suponiendo esta pandemia, estos resultados resultan de utilidad para las intervenciones en salud mental y sexual que actualmente se están desarrollando a causa de la COVID-19 (AU)

This research, which consists of two studies, has the general objective of analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on the sexual health of 347 adults living in Spain. Study 1, focused on non-face-to-face sexual practices (sexting and pornography), revealed similar levels of sexual satisfaction in men and women, but with differences in age regarding interaction with the consumption of pornography and marital status. Study 2 focused on the changes produced with respect to the previous six months, indicating that the maintenance of sexual satisfaction does not depend on gender, but it does depend on age in interaction with face-to-face sex, marital status, and individual sex, in interaction with an adequate functioning of sexual interest. Given the challenge that this pandemic is posing, these results are useful for the mental and sexual health interventions that are currently being developed because of COVID-19 (AU)