Table 1.

Differences between participants who had casual sex during social distancing due to COVID-19 and those who abstained (N = 2,562)

Sample	Casual sex during social distancing (N = 1,012)		No casual sex during social distancing (N = 1,550)		P	OR (95% CI)
	N	%	N	%
Single	826	81.6	1,058	68.3	<.001	1.89 (1.6–2.3)
Jewish	890	87.9	1,351	87.2	.1	0.83 (0.6–1.1)
Nonreligious	823	81.3	1,183	76.3	.2	1.16 (0.9–1.4)
Resides in central Israel	758	74.9	1,074	69.3	.1	1.18 (0.9–1.4)
Above-average income∗	387	38.2	595	38.4	.5	0.94 (0.8–1.1)
Academic education	515	50.8	881	56.8	<.001	0.73 (0.6–0.9)
Being “out” (no)†	123	12.5	226	14.6	.04	0.78 (0.6–0.9)
	M	SD	M	SD	P	Cohen’s d
Age	36.0	11.0	37.8	11.5	<.001	0.16
Mental distress‡	23.8	7.1	21.2	7.2	<.001	0.36
Mental well-being‡	23.4	6.4	24.3	6.4	.04	0.14

CI = confidence interval for odds ratio; COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019; OR = odds ratio; SD = standard deviation.

^∗Average monthly income in Israel is ∼€2,600 (∼US$3,000) per month.²⁴

^†Participants were asked who knows of their sexual orientation (0—some/all acquaintances and the family knows; 1—no one knows).

^‡The Mental Health Inventory score.