Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused several social, financial, and individual disruptions. During times in which survival needs are salient, having needs and goals related to protection can be particularly important to foster protective behaviors. Regulatory Focus Theory (Higgins, 2015) proposes that people more focused on prevention are motivated by safety and obligations, whereas people more focused on promotion are motivated by pleasure and advancement opportunities. In a time of heightened health risk, survival needs are more salient, and being able to self-regulate behaviors according to motives for security may determine health-protective actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, motives related to a prevention (vs. promotion) focus should be crucial for safeguarding well-being during these health threatening times. In a pre-registered longitudinal study, we examined if motives for security (i.e., prevention regulatory focus) at the onset of the pandemic predicted people’s perception of COVID-19 related threats two weeks later, and consequently predicted their sexual activity. Methods: Data was drawn from the first three waves of the Love in the Time of COVID study (March and April 2020). Our sample included 174 people who were not in a romantic relationship. Results: Results showed that single people who reported having a more prevention focus at the onset of the pandemic perceived greater threats caused by the pandemic two weeks later, which, in turn, predicted less frequent sexual activity and engagement in sex with fewer sexual partners the following two weeks. These effects were consistent even when controlling for promotion (i.e., pleasure motivations), personality, gender, and sexual orientation. Conclusions: In a health-threatening time where stressors negatively impact the way people are sexually relating to each other, favoring health security over sexual pleasure might be key to make better decisions, protect oneself from harm and ultimately foster sexual health.

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