ASSESSMENT OF ANXIETY, ANGER, COPING METHODS, DISABILITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN INFERTILE COUPLES

OBJECTIVE: Infertility is a chronic, unpredictable, personal or medically uncontrollable stress and can overcome the source of coping. While many studies have focused on the etiology and treatment of infertility, there are relatively few studies on psychosocial and social effects. In this study, it was aimed to compare the infertile couples’ anxiety levels, continuous anger and anger styles, coping styles, disability and quality of life with healthy control group.MATERIAL AND METHODS: 240 patients with primary infertility and 152 healthy subjects were included in the study. Trait and State Anxiety Scale, The Trait- State Anger Scale, Cope Scale, Sheehan Diability Scale and SF-36 Quality of Life Scale were administered to the participants. Incomplete scales were left out of the study. RESULTS: The men in the infertility group had significantly lower scores on the anger-in subscale, the Cope-substance subscale, and the SF-36 pain subscale than the men in the control group; The Sheehan Disability-job subscale, The Sheehan Disability total score, and the SF-36 vitality subscale were significantly higher. Women in the infertility group had significantly lower scores on the State Anxiety Inventory, Cope-substance subscale, Anger-in subscale, and SF-36 pain subscale than women in the control group; Cope-religion subscale was significantly higher than the control group . There was no significant difference between men and women in terms of scale scores in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: When evaluating infertile couples in light of the findings, direct expression should be emphasized instead of acceptance and somatization of feelings