Development of the fertility adjustment scale

Objective: To develop a standardized measure of psychological adjustment to infertility. Design: A cross-sectional two-group comparison study. Setting: Two specialized fertility clinics in large teaching hospitals. Patient(s): Fifty men and 50 women undergoing evaluation and/or treatment o f fertility problems. Intervention(s): The Fertility Adjustment Scale was administered with the H ospital Anxiety and Depression Scale as a measure of concurrent validity. Main Outcome Measure(s): Scores on the Fertility Adjustment Scale and the H ospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Result(s): Scores on the Fertility Adjustment Scale were distributed normal ly. Split-half and internal consistency were high. A significant correlatio n with measures of mood, anxiety, and distress provided evidence of concurr ent validity. Conclusion(s): Preliminary results suggest that this measure will be a usef ul tool in assessing psychological reactions to fertility problems and outc omes of treatment. (FertiI Steril(R) 1999;72:623-8. (C) 1999 by American So ciety for Reproductive Medicine.).