Predicting Psychological Distress of Infertility Based on Psychological Hardiness, Mindfulness and Basic Psychological Needs in Infertile Men and Women

Infertility and its treatment affect all aspects of the life of the individual and the couple and can cause various mental disorders. The aim of this study was to predict the psychological distress of infertility based on psychological toughness, mindfulness, and basic psychological needs in infertile men and women.

The present study is a descriptive-correlational study. The statistical population included all infertile men and women in Tehran. 200 women and 200 men with primary and secondary infertility diagnoses referred to infertility centers in Tehran in 1998 were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. Data were collected using the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale, the Psychological Hardiness Scale, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the The Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale was performed. Data were analyzed in SPSS software version 22.

Among the components of research, observation components (β = -0.12), description (β = -0.18), conscious practice (β = -0.24), autonomy (β = -0.22) and competence (Β = -0.33) were able to predict psychological distress. Based on the coefficient of determination, it can be said that in general, the variables in the model are able to explain 33% (R2 = 0.33) of the variance in the psychological distress variable.

Psychological hardiness, mindfulness and basic psychological needs play a role in predicting the psychological distress of infertility. Therefore, by training the necessary skills in this field, this can be reduced. Therefore, it is suggested that health teams can think of better measures to treat and improve the stress and psychological distress of infertile people with the knowledge of these issues.