Investigation of the Relationship between Attachment Styles and Ego-Strength with Adjustment to Infertility in Women Referring to Valie-Asr Reproductive Health Research Centre (Tehran Imam Khomeini Hospital) in 2014

Infertility is a stressful experience for women which require high levels of emotional adjustment. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between attachment styles and ego-strength with adjustment to infertility in women. The design of the present study was descriptive. A total number of 346 women referring to infertility clinic of Valie-asr Reproductive Health Research Centre (Tehran Imam Khomeini Hospital) participated in the study. Data was collected via demographic information questionnaire، Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI)، Ego-Strength Scale (ESS) and Adjustment to Illness Scale (AIS). There were significant positive correlation between secure attachment style and adjustment to infertility (r=0. 12، p<0/05) and significant negative correlation between adjustment to infertility and avoidant attachment style (r=-0. 21، p<0/01) and ambivalent attachment style (r=-0. 37، p<0. 01). There were also significant positive correlation between ego-strength and adjustment to infertility (r=0. 41، p<0. 01). Many of the treatments also had significant negative correlation with adjustment to infertility (r= -0. 35، p<0. 01). In regression analysis، ego-strength، ambivalent attachment style and number of the treatments predicted 35 percent of the variance of adjustment to infertility. These results can be helpful in identifying the high risk patients and planning psychological interventions.