Psychosocial Predictors of Infertile Women's Distress

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine whether psychological distress of infertile women would differ according to demographic and infertility characteristics, and psychosocial variables such as neuroticism, self-esteem, coping style, and dyadic communication patterns. METHODS: A total of 466 infertile Korean women attending four infertility clinics and being recruited through an online survey center participated in the study. Psychological distress was assessed using the Korean version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. The data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficients, a one-way analysis of variance, and hierarchical multiple regression. RESULTS: Overall psychological distress among infertile women did not differ significantly from that of healthy adult groups. However, infertile women who were of younger age or in the treatment preparation or rest period were shown to have a higher level of psychological distress. Hierarchical regression analyzes showed that after controlling demographic and infertility characteristics, psychosocial variables such as neuroticism, self-esteem, active/passive avoidance coping, and dyadic demanding/withdrawn communication patterns explained 52.5 % of psychological distress. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that a high-risk group is characterized with high neuroticism, low self-esteem, avoidance coping, and dyadic demanding/withdrawn communication pattern. There is a crucial need for developing an intervention which addresses infertile women's coping styles and marital communication.