The Relationship Between COVID-19 Confinement, Psychological Adjustment, and Sexual Functioning, in a Sample of Portuguese Men and Women

Overview

Journal J Sex Med

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialties Gynecology & Obstetrics
Reproductive Medicine
Urology

Date 2021 Jun 12

PMID 34116985

Citations 13

Authors

Joana Carvalho

Priscila Campos

Mariana Carrito

Catarina Moura

Ana Quinta-Gomes

Ines Tavares

Pedro Nobre

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Past research has revealed the detrimental effects of social isolation and physical distancing measures in health related outcomes. However, only recently COVID-19 confinement measures provided a context to test whether such detrimental effects exist in the human sexuality domain.

Aim: This study was aimed at testing the relationship between COVID-19 confinement levels and sexual functioning domains in men and women, while accounting for the mediating role of psychological adjustment during lockdown.

Methods: Two hundred and forty five men and 417 women completed a web survey on the effects of COVID-19 in sexual health. The reference period includes the first confinement in Portugal (March 19-June 1, 2020). Data were handled under Hays' procedures for simple mediation analysis.

Outcomes: Measurement outcomes included self-reported levels of confinement, IIEF and FSFI scores, and psychological adjustment during lockdown.

Results: Psychological adjustment during lockdown mediated the relationship between confinement levels and most sexual functioning domains in men but not in women. Also, while confinement levels were not directly related with most sexual functioning domains, psychological adjustment during lockdown did predict lower sexual functioning in both genders.

Clinical Translation: Findings support that human sexual functioning should be framed within a contextual perspective, emphasizing how psychological adjustment and situational life stressors, such as lockdown situations, shape individuals' sexuality. Such perspective should be considered in treatment protocols implemented during current pandemic.

Strengths & Limitations: Data add to the literature on the effects of lockdown in the sexuality domain. However, the study precludes inference of causality and targets only a little proportion of all the dynamics involved in sexuality during the current historical moment.

Conclusion: Psychological adjustment during COVID-19 seems to have a role on human sexual functioning, over the single effects of confinement. Carvalho J, Campos P, Carrito M, et al. The Relationship Between COVID-19 Confinement, Psychological Adjustment, and Sexual Functioning, in a Sample of Portuguese Men and Women. J Sex Med 2021;18:1191-1197.

Citing Articles

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Search traffic for inflatable penile prosthesis increased following the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: a Google Trends analysis.

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(Un)forgotten Sex Lives During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Coping Strategies That Work and the Role of Experience.

Berdychevsky L Arch Sex Behav. 2023; 52(8):3343-3363.

PMID: 37407891 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-023-02630-6.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on the Quality of Women's Sexual Life: A Systematic Review.

Voutskidou A, Kirkou G, Dagla M, Orovou E, Sarella A, Palaska E Healthcare (Basel). 2023; 11(2).

PMID: 36673553 PMC: 9858633. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11020185.

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