PATTERNS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN INFERTILE COUPLES

The present investigation used a sample of 104 infertile couples to ex amine patterns of distress among couples. Couples were separated on th e basis of which spouse(s) experienced distress: Both non-distressed ( 33%), Male distressed (18%), Female distressed (22%), Both distressed (27%). Most couples tended to exhibit parallel functioning (60%) with both spouses functioning at similar levels, while the remainder experi enced complementary patterns with one distressed and the other not. Of particular note is the finding that a substantial number of infertile couples (18%) have a distressed husband paired with a non-distressed wife, which is counter to the general assumption that infertility is m ore distressing to women than to men. The Both non-distressed couples had the least overall psychological distress, with higher estimates of marital satisfaction. They and the couples from the Male distressed g roup had been in the treatment process less time and were drawn primar ily from infertility clinics. The Female distressed group and Both dis tressed group had been in treatment for the longest time and were prim arily recruited through RESOLVE, Inc. (a national non-profit organizat ion for infertile people). These data illustrate the importance of con sidering the contextual pattern of distress in couples when considerin g women or men being treated for infertility.