FEATURES OF INFERTILITY-RELATED STRESS EXPERIENCED BY WOMEN

Abstract

Studies emphasize the role of infertility-related stress in the development of infertility and the infl uence of psychological factors on success of treatment. The purpose of the study was to investigate characteristics of individual components of infertility-related stress such as anxiety, depression, emotional schemas, and stress coping strategies. The data were collected and processed with Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL) Questionnaire (by J. Boivin); Emotional Schemas Questionnaire II (LESS II) (by R.L. Leahy); and COPE Stress Coping Questionnaire adapted by T.O. Gordeeva, E.N. Osin, et.al., Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test for statistical analysis. A sample of  infertile women (the main group) and  women without infertility who were not planning pregnancy in the near future (control group) participated in the study. The study showed that the infertile women experience insuffi - cient satisfaction with their quality of life, subjective emotional distress, lack of social support, and some extent of marital dissatisfaction. Moreover, subclinical levels of anxiety and depression are accompanied by general intensity of emotional schemas and prevalence of such schemas as “Guilt about Emotions”, “Incomprehensibility”, “Invalidation by Others”, “Predicted Duration of Emotions”, “A Tendency to Ruminate”, “Simplistic View of Emotions”. In stressful situations, the women experiencing infertility-related stress tend to use behavioral strategies characterized by infl exibility, avoidance, denial, and rare use of positive reframing or humor. The study revealed various factors contributing to the infertility-related stress experienced by the infertile women: insuffi cient satisfaction with their quality of life, subjective emotional distress, lack of social support, and marital dissatisfaction. Moreover, subclinical symptoms of anxiety and depression are accompanied by general intensity of emotional schemas and a limited range of stress coping strategies.