PSYCHOLOGICAL-FACTORS IN THE ETIOLOGY OF INFERTILITY - A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

The objectives were to identify and measure psychological factors char acterizing the period following the cessation of contraception and to assess these psychological factors as predictors of the couples' ferti lity. A cohort of 63 couples with initially undetermined fertility sta tus was prospectively studied, first shortly after the cessation of co ntraception, then 13 months later. The Child Project Questionnaire was constructed to assess psychological variations following the cessatio n of contraception. An Interspouse Difference Score was constructed to measure the difference between the spouses' responses. Three male and three female factors were derived from the questionnaire. The Intersp ouse Difference Score was significantly greater in infertile than in f ertile couples. Two psychological factor scores were significantly hig her in fertile subjects: the wives' level of positive expectations rel ated to motherhood, and the husbands' quality of integration between t he wish for a child and sexual relationships. Within the group of fert ile couples, time to pregnancy was predicted by the husbands' above-ci ted factor and by the wives' frequency of thoughts and concerns relate d to the desired child. The results support the conclusion that in bot h women and men, psychological factors specifically related to the pro ject of conceiving a child are significant predictors of the couple's fertility status.