A Systematic Review on Sexual Boredom

Purpose of the Review The World Health Association declared COVID-19 a pandemic more than 1 year ago. We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the topic of women’s sexual health during the pandemic, with a focus on sexual function and sexual pleasure. Our aim is to describe current findings and to discuss implications for women’s sexual health during this period. Recent Findings Thirty-four articles, from 18 countries, were identified. These studies addressed topics ranging from individual aspects, such as cognitive, emotional, and personality factors affecting sexuality during the pandemic, to contextual factors, including relationship, childrearing, and employment status in this period. Summary Research identified a deterioration of women’s sexual function across countries, with an emphasis on sexual desire. Most studies found decreases in the frequency of sexual intercourse during the pandemic and increases in solitary sexual behavior. Many women also experienced declines in sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction. Findings suggested that gender inequalities contributed to lower indices of sexual function and satisfaction, and might have exacerbated the pleasure gap between men and women.

Adult male appreciation of his body can affect sexual satisfaction. In addition, boredom caused by a lack of variety in sexual relations can also have an impact on sexual satisfaction in marriage. The aim of this study was to examine the role of body appreciation in predicting increased sexual satisfaction, either directly or indirectly through the mediation of sexual boredom, in early and middle-aged married men. Data were collected from a total of 382 participants (mean age 38 years) using a cross-sectional survey method with convenience sampling. Participants completed the extended satisfaction with life scale (ESWLS), body appreciation scale-2 (BAS-2), and sexual boredom scale (SBS). The results showed that sexual boredom partially mediated the indirect role of body appreciation in predicting sexual satisfaction (B=0.159; z=4.383; sig.=0.001<0.05) because body appreciation can also directly predict increased sexual satisfaction (B=0.814, t=11.418; sig.=0.001<0.05). This result indicates that body appreciation as an internal factor plays a greater role in predicting high sexual satisfaction in early and middle adulthood men.

Research indicates that men and women have different preferences and patterns of sexual behavior and the use of pornographic content. It is commonly found that men use porn more frequently. A recent study found sex differences in motivations behind porn use. Authors speculated that different motivations might lead to different outcomes. The presented study aimed to compare sex differences in the associations between pornography use, sexual satisfaction, and occurrence of psychological symptoms between high and low pornography users sampled from the general population. A sample of 179 participants between the ages of 18 to 37 completed the questionnaire containing questions about demographic data, manner, and frequency of porn use and two psychometric scales: the General Functioning Scale GFQ-58 (assessing broad psychological symptoms) and the Sexual Satisfaction Scale SSC. In general, females in the study obtained higher scores on the General Functioning Scale, presenting more psychological symptoms. Still, when considering the frequency and manner of porn use, it is men in which increased porn use was found to be associated with psychological symptoms. Presented data provide evidence that men and women might have different motivations, leading to varying outcomes of porn use. This further supports the hypothesis that it is not porn that is inherently harmful, but rather why and how you use it.