“INSIDE” Project on Sexual Health in Spain: Sexual Life During the Lockdown Caused by COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic is becoming a major hazard to public health worldwide. This is causing a significant impact on life and physical health, as well as on the psychological well-being of the general population. Since the emotional distress and the social restrictions caused by this epidemic, it must be expected that its impact will also extend to sexual health. The purpose of this study, the first including a large sample of the Spanish general population, was to analyze sexual behavior during the 99 days of confinement in Spain (INSIDE Project). Method One thousand four hundred forty-eight Spanish people, between 18 and 60 years old, were evaluated through an online survey during April 2020. The variables analyzed were the physical and social environment during confinement, sexual desire, type of sexual activity, masturbation, sexual intercourse, online sexual activity, general sexual frequency, sexual fantasies, degree of self-control over sexual drive, sexual abuse, general impact of confinement on sexuality, and emotional mood. Results Confinement has affected the sexual life of half of the Spanish population (47.7%), especially women. Those who reported a worsening of their sexual life are almost three times more (37.9%) than those who reported an improvement (14.4%). Conclusions Different factors have been significant predictors of the positive or negative evaluation about the impact of this confinement on sexual life, such as gender, couple life, privacy, stress level, and the perception of confinement as unbearable. Policy Implications These results have important implications for the public health and more especially sexual health of the Spanish population.

Sexuality during the COVID-19 pandemic: The importance of Internet

“…In a Spanish study ( Ballester-Arnal et al, 2020 ), the total sample was divided into three quite similar subgroups. Approximately one third, 35.9%, stated that they had greater sexual desire during confinement, 34.9% had less desire and 29.1% nearly the same.…”

Sexual health (excluding reproductive health, intimate partner violence and gender-based violence) and COVID-19: a scoping review

“…Seventeen studies assessed sexual activity and desire during the pandemic among the general public. [95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111] Ten studies indicated that the pandemic had affected participants' sexual lives. 97-109 111 A Chinese cross-sectional observational quantitative study found that the number of sexual partners decreased during the pandemic.…”

La sexualité pendant la pandémie COVID-19 – de l’importance d’Internet

“…Dans une étude espagnole ( Ballester-Arnal et al, 2020 ), 47,7 % des participants, ont déclaré que leur vie sexuelle a été affectée par la pandémie et surtout les femmes. 37,9 % ont déclaré une diminution de leur activité sexuelle et seulement 14,4 % d’entre eux, un désir plus faible.…”