Stress, Fatigue, and Sexual Spontaneity Among Married Couples in a High-Stress Society: Evidence from Sex Diary Data from Singapore

Partnership status, living arrangements, and changes in sexual behaviour and satisfaction during the COVID-19 lockdown: insights from an observational, cross-sectional online survey in Singapore

“…27 Although scholars have largely attempted to characterise risk factors for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among at-risk populations such as men who have sex with men, sex workers and their clients, as well as adolescents, [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] there is a gap in published studies on the sexual behaviour of Singaporeans in general, notwithstanding a few studies on sexual health in the general population. [36][37][38] Singapore's version of its 'lockdown', or COVID-19 movement control measures, were also known as the 'circuit breaker' period. This was in effect from 7 April until 1 June 2020, and involved the closure of all non-essential workplaces and the implementation of strictly enforced movement control measures such as mandatory maskwearing and restrictions on leaving one's home unless for essential services.…”

Changes in Frequency and Patterns of Marital Sexual Activity During COVID-19: Evidence from Longitudinal Data Prior to, During and After Lockdown in Singapore

“…However, the associations between stress and sexual activity do not appear to be strictly linear: feeling quite stressed or not stressed were both associated with higher probability of non-activity and lower sexual frequency. To reconcile these findings, it may be observed that while previous studies suggest that stress generally has a negative association with sexual desire and activity, 4 , 18 , 19 there is also some evidence that stress from daily hassles are positively associated with sexual desire, 40 suggesting that mild to moderate levels of stress may be more optimal for increased sexual frequency relative to either very low or high levels of stress.…”

“…Understanding changes in sexual activity brought on by the pandemic is especially important in the case of Singapore, where sexual frequency and satisfaction are lower than international averages, 41 , 42 with one study estimating coital frequency to be around 3 times per month among married women in this age range, 19 compared to an average of around 6 and 7 times among married and cohabitating couples with female partners under age 45 in the U.S. 43 These low levels have been linked to stress and fatigue driving sexual activity below ideal levels. 19 , 34 An unpublished local survey (n = 1,000) found that almost 40% of married couples trying to conceive were not satisfied with their progress, and that low sexual frequency due to stress and long working hours was the most common obstacle mentioned by respondents. 44 Women tend to be disproportionately allocated care work and household chores, resulting in role overload and physical, mental and emotional exhaustion.…”

“… 2 , 15 , 17 Longitudinal studies suggest that sexual activity tends to be lower during periods of higher stress. 18 , 19 Similarly, recently collected data suggest that the correlation between self-reported stress and desire for sex was overall negative during the pandemic. 4 However, researchers have argued that such environments may also increase interest in sexual activity to generate immediate pleasurable relief from stress, anxiety, or boredom.…”

“… 11 However, both men and women took on additional household and childcare obligations during the pandemic, with a disproportionate burden placed on women. 20 , 21 , 22 While the literature does not show a consistent statistical relationship between women's employment status and sexual frequency, 7 , 23 , 24 studies consistently find that couples are most sexually active on nights preceding weekends, 18 , 19 , 25 suggesting that the structure of the workweek may influence weekly patterns of sexual activity.…”