The Comparison of Coping Strategies With Stress and Marital Satisfaction in Women on the Basis of Infertility Factor

Background: Nowadays infertility issue has become a social concern and is associated with numerous social and psychological problems. Infertility can influence interpersonal, marital and social relationships. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the type of coping strategies regarding stress and the level of marital satisfaction in infertile women associated with their infertility factors and to obtain the relationship between these two variables. Materials and Methods: The sample group included 50 women with female infertility factor and 50 women with male infertility factor. The participants contacted upon their treatment course with Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) in Mehr infertility clinic, Tehran, Iran. Enrich marital satisfaction questionnaire and standard scale for measuring coping strategies were used during this study. Results: Data analysis showed that coping strategies and marital satisfaction were different in the two groups of participants based on their infertility factors. The women with female infertility factor used more "emotion- focused" and "less useful coping strategies" than the women with male infertility factor (P < 0.001). The women with male infertility factor had significantly more marital satisfaction than their infertile counterparts (P = 0.019). Conclusions: The results provided useful evidence about the types of coping strategies in infertile women. Also considering infertility factor, a significant relationship was found between the type of coping strategies and marital satisfaction in infertile couples.