“The Effect of Social Emotional Capacities of Infertile Individuals on Their Ability at Coping Strategy and Infertility Stress”

Background: Infertility is an important problem that is increasing worldwide and affecting individuals physiologically, psychologically, and socially. Purpose: To determine the effect of the social-emotional capacities of infertile individuals on their stress levels and ability to cope with infertility stress. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 428 men and women diagnosed with infertility at a University Hospital Fertility Center. Data were collected with the Infertility Stress Scale (COMPI-FPSS), the Infertility Stress Coping Strategies Scales (COMPI-CSS) and the Social Emotional Capacity Measurement Tool in Infertile Individuals (SCREENIVF), and surveys gathering demographic and infertility information. Results: The average age of the women was 32.92± 4.95 years and the average age of their husbands was 34.86± 4.77 years. The mean scores of individual (t = 2.536, p = 0.012), marital (t= 3.633, p = 0.026), and social stresses (t = 2.987, p = 0.034) due to infertility, which are COMPI-FPSS subgroups, were statistically significantly higher for women than for men. The correlation between active avoidance coping, passive avoidance coping, and helplessness shows that active avoidance coping methods and passive avoidant coping methods are associated with increased helplessness (r=447, p< .001; r=414, p< .001, respectively). The study model showed that while the independent variable of social-emotional capacity was associated with infertility stress (p <.001), age (p < .05), and years of marriage (p < .001), the relationship of methods of coping with infertility stress was insignificant. The factors included in the model explain 23.2% of social-emotional capacity (R 2=0.232, F (6;421) =21.196; p<.001). Conclusion: Women who undergo infertility treatment have more personal, marital, and social stress than men. While the social-emotional capacities of infertile individuals affect the infertility stress caused by personal, marital, and social stress, it is not related to the methods used by the individual to cope with infertility stress. Considering these risk factors can help determine counseling approaches.