First sexual intercourse: where did it take place? The effects of COVID-19 restrictions on the locations of initial sexual activity in university students

This study examines how COVID-19 restrictions influenced the location of first sexual intercourse among Mexican university students. The sample included 221 students who initiated sexual activity during the pandemic and 162 who did so before or after. During the pandemic, there was a significant change, with a reduction in sexual relations at parents' houses (from 54.9% to 40.3%) and an increase in first sex in rented/borrowed houses (from 9.3% to 19.5%) and outdoor spaces (from 2.5% to 9.5%). However, at all times, even during pandemic restrictions, the parents' house remained the most common site for first sexual intercourse (46.5%). Other notable locations included hotels/motels (22.7%), rented/borrowed houses (15.1%), cars (9.1%), urban outdoors (3.7%), and rural outdoors (2.9%). Those who first started having sex during the pandemic displayed a lower level of interest in sexual activity (inhibited sexual desire (ISD) score: 3.39 vs 2.64, <i>p</i> = .006), initiated later (17.92 vs 16.95 years, <i>p</i> < .001), and had fewer partners (2.18 vs 2.77, <i>p</i> = .048). These findings highlight the continued importance of the parental home as a key site for first sexual activity among students, but with key shifts in location linked to pandemic restrictions.