Intimate Relationships during COVID-19 across the Genders: An Examination of the Interactions of Digital Dating, Sexual Behavior, and Mental Health

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

I have reviewed this article which deals with the problems of digital dating partly induced by the recent pandemics

The manuscript is complete, thoroughly researched and adequate. The introduction covers all necessary references.

There are some minor problems of language but nothing relevant.

The approach used to describe the problem is very systematic and therefore adequate.

The results are clear and feasible. The cases studies are well selected and show prospects for future researches. Perhaps some outline and break down of statistics divided by cases like MSM, etc. would be helpful. The problems of transgender dating seem slightly subdued in the LGBTQI+  discussion. The case of women in the discussion is treated very scarcely, if compared with the rest of the sections.

I miss more recommendations on how to avoid transmission of STD for instance by introducing PREP treatments for more population or HPV vaccines.

The geographical frame of the review does not seem too explicit.

Summary of evaluation: This article is indeed interesting and necessary for comprehension of contemporary society and the means to deal with affective and emotional expression. It is well rendered and developed. I have identified no hindrances in the methodology, scope or discussion and I therefore suggest that it is accepted for publication with minor adjustments and corrections as described before.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We appreciate the time and effort you invested in offering your valuable feedback and insightful input on our paper. We have made some adjustments by incorporating some of the suggestions provided. We have noted these revisions in the document and addressed each of your comments in detail.

The following outlines a point-by-point response:

• Comment 1: There are some minor problems of language but nothing relevant.

Response: We have further screened the document and re-structured sentences for precision and conciseness.

• Comment 2: Perhaps some outline and break down of statistics divided by cases like MSM, etc. would be helpful. The problems of transgender dating seem slightly subdued in the LGBTQI+ discussion. The case of women in the discussion is treated very scarcely, if compared with the rest of the sections.

Response: Thank you for these suggestions. It would have been interesting to outline the statistics divided by cases. The authors initially intended to provide a table that presents these figures. However, it was highly difficult to compare due to the lack of homogenous variables within the available studies relating to dating during COVID-19. Thus, the content was outlined as such.

• Comment 3: I miss more recommendations on how to avoid transmission of STD for instance by introducing PREP treatments for more population or HPV vaccines.

Response: We agree with this and have added a section in 3.5.2 that discussed recommendations for sexual-health treatment and interventions contextualised to COVID-19’s bi-directional effects which were supported by relevant studies.  

• Comment 4: The geographical frame of the review does not seem too explicit.

Response: Thank you for raising this. As stated in response to comment 2, the authors included relevant studies relevant to the topic but there are gaps in the literature due to the lack of homogenous studies available pertaining to genders relationships contextualised in relation to COVID-19 to provide a stronger geographical frame.

We hope our responses provided sufficient clarity and change incorporated are considered. We look forward to hearing from you in due time regarding our submission and to respond to any further questions and comments you may have.

Sincerely,

Authors

29 June 2022

Reviewer 2 Report

The paper aims to explore the impact of the COVID pandemic on the intimate relationships of people with different sexual orientation and the way these relationships have been changed during the pandemic. The paper has a theoretical focus and the authors make a detail overview of the existing studies, exploring the effect of the pandemic on different social groups (based on gender, minority status, etc.). In this regard, the paper outlines an emerging and very important topic such as the effects of the COVID-19’s pandemic on the mental health of the people with diverse sexual orientations. The overview shows that the increased stress and anxiety during the global health crisis had a negative influence on the social interactions and particularly, on the romantic and intimate relationships. The increased domestic violence and worsened mental health are some of the implication of the social isolation and the reduced social contacts. In these conditions, dating applications and digital platforms have been increasingly used for romantic relationships but their usage has also important drawbacks and risks such as new forms of violence like scams, virtual abuse and deception in online self-presentation. My suggestion to authors is outline more clearly the cross-cultural perspective in the overview of the existing studies and the way it affects the intimate relationships of people with different sexual orientation in specific socio-cultural contexts.  

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We appreciate the time and effort you invested in offering your valuable feedback and insightful input on our paper. We have made some adjustments by incorporating some of the suggestions provided. We have noted these revisions in the document and addressed each of your comments in detail.

The following outlines a point-by-point response:

• Comment 1: My suggestion to authors is outline more clearly the cross-cultural perspective in the overview of the existing studies and the way it affects the intimate relationships of people with different sexual orientation in specific socio-cultural contexts.  

Response: Thank you for pointing this out. We have revised some sections to emphasize these points where there were literature findings to support socio-cultural perspectives affects the specified genders’ relationship/behaviour. Additional sources to support the findings were added to the reference list. 

We hope our responses provided sufficient clarity and change incorporated are considered. We look forward to hearing from you in due time regarding our submission and to respond to any further questions and comments you may have.

Sincerely,

Authors

29 June 2022