Demographic, social and sexual factors associated with a reported decrease in casual sex partners during COVID-19 measures in Panama, 2020
| Casual sex stayed the same* | Casual sex decreased | OR | P value | Adjusted OR† | P value | |
| (A) Social and demographic factors associated with decreased sexual encounters with casual partners | ||||||
| Gender | ||||||
| Cis-woman | 333/432 (77.1) | 99/432 (22.9) | 1 | |||
| Cis-man | 178/293 (60.8) | 115/293 (39.2) | 2.17 (1.57–3.00) | <0.01 | 2.17 (1.57–3.01) | <0.01 |
| Non-binary/another gender | 38/54 (70.4) | 16/54 (29.6) | 1.42 (0.76–2.65) | 0.28 | 1.41 (0.75–2.65) | 0.29 |
| Age | ||||||
| 18–23 | 134/214 (62.6) | 80/214 (37.4) | 1 | 1 | ||
| 24–28 | 118/166 (71.1) | 48/166 (28.9) | 0.68 (0.44–1.05) | 0.08 | 0.67 (0.42–1.10) | 0.10 |
| 29–37 | 151/201 (75.1) | 50/201 (24.9) | 0.55 (0.36–0.87) | <0.01 | 0.63 (0.38–1.04) | 0.07 |
| 38 and above | 146/198 (73.7) | 52/198 (26.3) | 0.60 (0.39–0.91) | 0.02 | 0.92 (0.52–1.65) | 0.80 |
| Children | ||||||
| 0 | 357/536 (66.4) | 179/536 (33.4) | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1–2 | 153/198 (77.3) | 45/198 (22.7) | 0.59 (0.40–0.86) | <0.01 | 0.68 (0.42–1.10) | 0.12 |
| 3 and more | 39/45 (86.7) | 6/45 (13.3) | 0.31 (0.13–0.74) | <0.01 | 0.23 (0.08–0.63) | 0.01 |
| Ethnic group | ||||||
| Mestizo | 314/447 (70.2) | 133/447 (29.8) | 1 | 1 | ||
| Afro-descendant | 54/90 (60.0) | 36/90 (40.0) | 1.57 (0.98–2.51) | 0.06 | 1.78 (1.07–2.94) | 0.02 |
| White | 140/182 (76.9) | 42/182 (23.1) | 0.71 (0.47–1.06) | 0.09 | 0.72 (0.47–1.10) | 0.14 |
| Asian | 6/11 (54.6) | 5/11 (45.4) | 1.97 (0.59–6.56) | 0.27 | 2.25 (0.64–7.90) | 0.21 |
| Indigenous | 35/49 (71.4) | 14/49 (28.6) | 0.94 (0.49–1.81) | 0.86 | 0.65 (0.29–1.23) | 0.30 |
| Household monthly income since COVID-19 started | ||||||
| US$0–US$499 | 128/198 (64.6) | 70/198 (35.3) | 1 | 1 | ||
| US$500–US$999 | 98/138 (71.0) | 40/138 (29.0) | 0.75 (0.47–1.19) | 0.22 | 0.77 (0.46–1.30) | 0.33 |
| US$1000–US$2000 | 124/186 (66.7) | 62/186 (33.3) | 0.91 (0.60–1.39) | 0.68 | 1.01 (0.62–1.65) | 0.96 |
| US$2001–US$5000 | 138/181 (76.2) | 43/181 (23.8) | 0.57 (0.36–0.89) | 0.01 | 0.76 (0.44–1.29) | 0.30 |
| US$5001 and higher | 56/69 (81.2) | 13/69 (18.8) | 0.42 (0.22–0.83) | 0.01 | 0.58 (0.27–1.23) | 0.15 |
| Personal loss of income | ||||||
| Yes | 91/148 (61.5) | 57/148 (38.5) | 1 | 1 | ||
| No change in work | 390/537 (72.6) | 147/537 (27.4) | 0.60 (0.41–0.88) | <0.01 | 0.73 (0.47–1.15) | 0.18 |
| No income pre-COVID-19 | 67/92 (72.8) | 25/92 (27.2) | 0.59 (0.34–1.05) | 0.07 | 0.61 (0.32–1.15) | 0.13 |
| Alcohol use in the last week | <0.01 | |||||
| Decreased | 204/342 (59.6) | 138/342 (40.4) | 1 | 1 | ||
| The same | 243/302 (80.5) | 59/302 (19.5) | 0.36 (0.25–0.51) | <0.01 | 0.38 (0.26–0.55) | <0.01 |
| Increased | 100/131 (76.3) | 31/131 (23.7) | 0.46 (0.29–0.72) | <0.01 | 0.53 (0.32–0.85) | 0.01 |
| (B) Sexual behaviours: individual and with casual partners | ||||||
| Sexual orientation | ||||||
| Heterosexual | 425/578 (73.5) | 153/578 (26.5) | 1 | 1 | ||
| Bisexual | 38/60 (63.3) | 22/60 (36.7) | 1.61 (0.92–2.80) | 0.09 | 1.37 (0.69–1.87) | 0.41 |
| Lesbian, gay | 46/81 (56.8) | 35/81 (43.2) | 2.11 (1.31–3.40) | <0.01 | 1.58 (0.86–2.91) | 0.14 |
| Asexual, pansexual, queer, questioning, another gender | 33/51 (64.7) | 18/51 (35.3) | 1.51 (0.83–2.77) | 0.18 | 0.93 (0.40–2.17) | 0.87 |
| Sexual satisfaction | ||||||
| Decreased | 291/363 (80.2) | 72/363 (19.8) | 1 | 1 | ||
| The same | 139/204 (68.1) | 65/204 (31.9) | 1.89 (1.28–2.80) | <0.01 | 1.50 (0.91–2.47) | 0.10 |
| Increased | 110/201 (54.7) | 91/201 (45.3) | 3.34 (2.29–4.88) | <0.01 | 2.99 (1.85–4.84) | <0.01 |
| Masturbated | ||||||
| Decreased | 86/171 (50.3) | 85/171 (49.7) | 1 | 1 | ||
| The same | 330/386 (85.5) | 56/386 (14.5) | 0.17 (0.11–0.26) | <0.01 | 0.34 (0.20–0.58) | <0.01 |
| Increased | 130/216 (60.2) | 86/216 (39.8) | 0.67 (0.45–1.00) | 0.05 | 0.77 (0.41–1.44) | 0.17 |
| Virtual sex use‡ | ||||||
| Decreased | 12/90 (13.3) | 78/90 (86.7) | 32.2 (16.8–61.6) | 16.53 (7.74–35.27) | ||
| The same | 446/536 (83.2) | 90/536 (16.8) | 1 | 1 | ||
| Increased | 91/148 (61.5) | 57/148 (38.5) | 3.10 (2.08–4.64) | 1.78 (1.10–2.88) | ||
| Pornography use | ||||||
| Decreased | 51/136 (37.5) | 85/136 (62.5) | 1 | 1 | ||
| The same | 396/469 (84.4) | 74/469 (15.6) | 0.11 (0.07–0.17) | <0.01 | 0.06 (0.03–0.13) | 0.01 |
| Increased | 100/170 (58.8) | 70/170 (41.2) | 0.42 (0.26–0.67) | 0.01 | 0.52 (0.24–1.12) | 0.10 |
| (C) Long-term partner relationship and sexual behaviours | ||||||
| Long-term partner cohabitation | ||||||
| No, they lived someplace else | 200/289 (69.2) | 89/289 (30.8) | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes, the whole time | 199/231 (86.1) | 32/231 (13.9) | 0.36 (0.23–0.57) | <0.01 | 0.61 (0.33–1.11) | 0.11 |
| Formal relationship tensions | ||||||
| Part of the time | 25/30 (83.3) | 5/30 (16.7) | 0.45 (0.17–1.21) | 0.11 | 0.84 (0.29–2.46) | 0.75 |
| Less tensions | 119/146 (81.5) | 27/146 (18.5) | 1 | |||
| Tensions about the same | 126/146 (86.3) | 20/146 (13.7) | 0.70 (0.37–1.31) | 0.27 | ||
| More tensions | 115/144 (79.9) | 29/144 (20.1) | 1.11 (0.62–1.99) | 0.72 | ||
| Formal partner emotional support | 0.16 | |||||
| Decreased | 48/65 (73.8) | 17/65 (26.2) | 1 | |||
| The same | 180/214 (84.1) | 34/214 (15.9) | 0.53 (0.27–1.03) | 0.06 | ||
| Increased | 133/160 (83.1) | 27/160 (16.9) | 0.57 (0.29–1.14) | 0.11 | ||
| Formal partner hugging, kissing, cuddling | ||||||
| Decreased | 160/209 (76.6) | 49/209 (23.4) | 1 | 1 | ||
| The same | 128/143 (89.5) | 15/143 (10.5) | 0.38 (0.21–0.71) | <0.01 | 0.62 (0.27–1.42) | 0.26 |
| Increased | 81/100 (81.0) | 19/100 (19.0) | 0.77 (0.42–1.39) | 0.38 | 1.32 (0.55–3.17) | 0.54 |
| Had sex with a long-term partner | ||||||
| Decreased | 180/233 (77.2) | 53/233 (22.8) | 1 | 1 | ||
| The same | 142 (87.7) | 20/162 (12.3) | 0.48 (0.27–0.84) | 0.02 | 0.70 (0.33–1.46) | 0.34 |
| Increased | 47/57 (82.5) | 10/57 (17.5) | 0.72 (0.35–1.53) | 0.40 | 0.81 (0.29–2.22) | 0.68 |
Values in bold are significant at p<0.05.
*Reports of increased casual sex not included (n=21).
†Adjusted for sex and area of residence (rural vs urban).
‡Virtual sex is a composite variable of cybersex use and/or sexting use.