Characteristics of infertility specific quality of life in Hungarian couples

INTRODUCTION: Experiencing involuntary childlessness has a great impact on couples' quality of life. AIM: The aim of the authors was to examine the correlations among infertility-specific quality of life and depression on the level of individuals and couples. METHOD: 126 couples in five fertility centers in Hungary filled out the FertiQoL and Beck Depression Inventory and answered some sociodemographic questions. RESULTS: In gender comparison, women reported about more depressive symptoms and poorer quality of life than men. Both in men and women, the higher depression level correlated with lower level of quality of life. Moreover, the presence of more depressive symptoms in women was related to men's poorer quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that differences may exist in affective responses to infertility between women and men and that female affective problems take effects on the level of the couple relationship. These findings may be useful in psychosocial support of the couples facing infertility, especially in couple counselling or couple therapy.