This is a summary, written by members of the CITF Secretariat, of:

Skakoon‐Sparling S, Palma PA, Zahran A, Hart TA, Moore DM, Cox J, Lachowsky NJ, Dvorakova M, Daroya E, Grace D. Loneliness and the sexual behavior of sexual minority men in the context of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 2023 Jun 20;e12814. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12814

The results and/or conclusions contained in the research do not necessarily reflect the views of all CITF members.

A CITF-funded study, published in Social and Personality Psychology Compass, found that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) likely adapted their sexual activity in line with COVID-19 concerns/public health guidelines. In effect, despite increased feelings of loneliness, many GBM restricted their number of new sexual partners and were less likely to engage in sexual risk-taking during the first year of COVID-19. The study was led by Drs. Shayna Skakoon-Sparling (Toronto Metropolitan University) and Daniel Grace (University of Toronto) in collaboration with Dr. Nathan Lachowsky (University of Victoria).

According to the Loneliness and Sexual Risk Model, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) may try to cope with loneliness through risky sexual behaviours. Previous studies have demonstrated that COVID-19 measures, such as social distancing and isolation, led to increases in loneliness and may also have contributed to elevated sexual risk-taking among some GBM. This study investigated whether this was the case. Participants were recruited from an ongoing CITF-funded study of GBM health and well-being (The Engage Cohort Study) and were included in the current analysis if they had completed relevant study questions at three time points: pre-COVID-19 lockdowns (March 2019 to March 2020), period 1 (September 2020 to February 20210, and period 2 (February 2021 to March 2022).

Key findings:

  • Three groups of GBM reported more loneliness during the first year of COVID-19: those who reported lower levels of social support pre-COVID-19, those who were younger, and those who lived alone.
  • Although feelings of loneliness did not predict sexual risk-taking within the first year of COVID-19, loneliness did predict greater sexual risk-taking 6 months later.
  • Younger GBM and those living alone were more likely to engage in sexual risk-taking at both COVID-19 data collection points (period 1 and period 2). These findings offer some support for the Loneliness and Sexual Risk Model. However, it is likely that the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a temporary suspension of the predicted association between loneliness and sexual risk-taking, as many GBM took steps to protect themselves and partners in the context of COVID-19 when concerns were high and no vaccine was available.

Participants were recruited from February 2017 to August 2019 and completed study visits at enrollment and every 6–12 months afterwards. Participants were included in the current analysis if (i) they completed a study visit within 12 months prior to the Canadian COVID-19 lockdowns (March 2019 to March 2020), (ii) and completed the relevant study measures in the first (COVID1, September 2020 to February 2021) and second (COVID2, February 2021 to March 2022) periods.