Coping with involuntary childlessness in men

Somatic causes are equally distributed between the sexes, as are challenges in coping with infertility. The present paper is concerned with the hypoth esis that coping mechanisms are influenced by personal motives for parentin g and by the narcissistic demands of the personality. In the Heidelberg pro ject on male infertility, 136 (80) male patients seeking andrological treat ment were assessed before the onset of andrological diagnosis and one year later. Questionnaires on the motivation for parenting, narcissistic self-re gulation, and coping mechanisms were submitted. Among the results, two corr elational patterns that were stable over time are especially important: 1. ,,fragile self" pattern consisting of correlations between an endangered se lf image, depressive coping, and the wish to be emotionally stabilized by a child. 2. ,,symbiotic" pattern characterized by self-stabilization through symbiotic wishes expressed regarding the partner or the desired child, or by commitment to religion. The relevance of these patterns for men coping w ith infertility is discussed.