PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STRAIN IN RELATION TO INFERTILITY

The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between psych ological state and perceived strain in relation to fertility problems. Couples presenting at an infertility clinic completed, on two occasio ns seven months apart, a series of standardized measures to assess psy chopathology, In addition, they completed a weekly diary rating their mood state or distress/strain over a period of 22 weeks, during which investigations and treatment were taking place. Little evidence of psy chopathology was found in the sample; the weekly diaries also suggeste d a general lack of distress/strain, even in response to medical inves tigations and diagnosis. The results are discussed in the light of wid e individual variations in ratings obtained from the diaries. Particip ants with high distress/strain scores tended to have significantly hig her initial scores on the psychometric measures administered. Particip ants with high distress/strain scores were also more likely to show a further significant increase in distress/ strain scores in relation to diagnostic information. It is argued that a task for future research is to determine the characteristics of those couples who are likely to experience difficulty in coping with the strain of infertility invest igations so that counselling resources and support services can be mos t effectively targeted. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.