Psychosocial Predictors of Infertile Women’s Distress |
Young Sun Lee1, Seung Mi Choi2, Jung-hye Kwon3 |
1Department of Liberal Arts, Joongbu University 2Graduate School of Education, Kwangwoon University 3Department of Psychology, Korea University |
난임 여성의 심리적 디스트레스를 예측하는 심리사회적 요인 |
이영선1, 최승미2, 권정혜3 |
1중부대학교 교양학부 2광운대학교 교육대학원 3고려대학교 심리학과 |
Correspondence:
Jung-hye Kwon, Tel: 02-3290-2067, Fax: 02-3290-2662, Email: junghye@korea.ac.kr |
Received: 6 March 2019 • Revised: 15 April 2019 • Accepted: 16 April 2019 |
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, selfesteem, 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 oneway 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psychosocial variables such as neuroticism, self-esteem, active/passive avoidance coping, and dyadic demanding/withdrawn communication patterns explained 52.5 % of psychological distress.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that a high-risk group is characterized with high neuroticism, low self-esteem, avoidance coping, and dyadic demanding/withdrawn communication pattern.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. |
Key Words:
female infertility, psychological adjustment, neuroticism, coping skills, communication |
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