In this paper, we sought to understand the short- and long-term consequences of social isolation on peoples’ sex drives and sexual relationships. Previous research has predicted the effects of isolation through variables such as sexual desire, sexual activity, depending on the amount of psychological stimulation. In our correlational study, we tested the strength of these relationships by examining naturalistic daily changes in their variables longitudinally over a two-week period. These included feelings of isolation, psychological stimulation, and sexual desire measured by hourly subjective ratings, duration of isolation measured by total time each day, and sexual activity measured by frequency of activity each day. Data pooled across our participants showed no strong correlations of sexual activity with duration of isolation or psychological stimulation. There was also no correlation between feelings of isolation and sexual desire.
