Perceptions of Infectability to Disease Moderate the Association between Daily Concerns about Contracting COVID-19 and Satisfaction with Sex

Abstract

The behavioral immune system is an evolved adaptation comprised of automatic behavioral, cognitive, and affective reactions that has allowed humans throughout evolutionary history to avoid situations that risk infection by pathogens (e.g., physical proximity to sick people). Although behavioral immune system activation may be functional by helping people avoid such situations, experiencing these automatic reactions during sexual interactions may undermine people’s evaluations of those interactions because sex requires close physical contact. We examined whether two sources of behavioral immune system activation (daily concern over contracting COVID-19 and individual differences in infection concern) undermined satisfaction with sex among 318 partnered adults in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants reported individual differences in perceived infectability and then, every night for two weeks, reported their (a) daily concern about contracting COVID-19, (b) daily stress, (c) whether they had sex with their partner, and (d) their satisfaction with sex when it occurred. People’s perceived infectability moderated the association between their daily concern about contracting COVID-19 and the extent to which they enjoyed sex when it occurred, such that people higher, but not lower, in perceived infectability enjoyed sex less on days that they were more worried about contracting COVID-19 than usual. This effect was not moderated by biological sex and remained significant when controlling for biological sex, age, relationship length, and frequency of sex. Results highlight the importance of the behavioral immune system to sexual functioning and suggest a novel avenue through which the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted relationships. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10508-021-02076-8.

Leveraging smartphones to observe couples remotely and illuminate how COVID-19 stress shaped marital communication.

“…Research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic also offers evidence consistent with these possibilities (Hicks et al, 2022;Kroencke et al, 2020;Overall et al, 2021Overall et al, , 2022. In one study, for example, men who endorsed higher (vs. lower) hostile sexism before the pandemic were more likely to report heightened verbal aggression toward their partners and children during mandatory quarantine (Overall et al, 2021).…”

Relationship and Sexual Quality in the Wake of COVID-19: Effects of Individual Regulatory Focus and Shared Concerns over the Pandemic

“…Moreover, being fearful of COVID-19 infection was associated with more health-protective behaviors [25], but also with worse diet and sleep quality [26] and negative changes in sex life [27]. Indeed, people who perceived themselves to be more susceptible to infections reported less satisfaction with their sexual activity on days they were more (but not less) worried about contracting COVID-19 [28]. In contrast, wanting to relax and connect with one's partner during the pandemic was associated with more frequent sexual activity [29], and sexual desire was associated with more sexual exploration and sex life quality during this period [30].…”

Evidence for Sex Differences in Depression, Sexual Attitudes, and Impulsivity as Predictors of Breaking Shelter-in-Place Orders During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Higher rates of autoeroticism were also identified in about 40% of adults ( N = 1515) during the quarantine in Italy though heightened rates of eroticism did not lead to greater frequency of sexual behaviors (Cocci et al, 2020 ). Additional research at the intersection of sexuality, intimacy, and COVID-19 have examined patterns of sexual behavior among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals in the USA (Griffin et al, 2022 ), perceptions of infectability as a moderator in the association between COVID-19 concern and sexual satisfaction (Hicks et al, 2022 ), predictors to engage in sexting during shelter-in-place (Thomas et al, 2022 ), and the impact of COVID-19 on sex and relationships among US undergraduate students (Herbenick et al, 2022 ). Although one study examined the extent to which Brazilian and Portuguese men who have sex with men (MSM) broke shelter-in-place to engage in casual sex (de Sousa et al, 2021 ), to the best of the researchers’ knowledge, an empirical investigation of the contributing factors that predicted breaking SIP orders to engage in sexual intercourse with partners residing outside the home in the USA have not yet been conducted.…”