Sub-fertility : the expectations and perceptions of couple members of medical consultation

Roberts, Amie Elizabeth Jayne

Abstract

Sub-fertility represents a major stress for couples requiring management by the partners. The interaction between couple member's strategies may influence the levels of sub-fertility related stress experienced by both partners, as such an understanding of sub-fertility as a couple level stressor is required. This review integrates existing data regarding sub-fertile couple members' individual coping and the influence of intracouple coping concordance on fertility problem stress. Eleven publications, comprising nine quantitative and two qualitative studies, were identified using a list of selection criteria applied to the results of defined searches in Psycinfo, Web of Knowledge and CINAHL and manual searches of articles' bibliographies. Females were found to experience greater distress and utilise more coping strategies than males, which may be influenced by the importance of motherhood to the female gender role. Couple members' coping was found to influence their partner's distress levels with the extent of intra-couple coping concordance and discordance for several coping strategies being found to impact upon partners' distress levels. The effect of intra-couple coping concordance and discordance upon partners' availability to support each other is considered. Further research specifically focusing upon the measurement of intra-couple coping of concordance/ discordance and the impact upon partners’ sub-fertility related distress within couples is required, as this is currently an under researched area, with little consensus about which coping strategies are investigated and, subsequently, the effects of intra-couple coping concordance.

Citation

Roberts, A. E. J. (2010). Sub-fertility : the expectations and perceptions of couple members of medical consultation. (Thesis). University of Hull. Retrieved from https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4209829

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 16, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 22, 2023
• Keywords: Medicine
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4209829
• Additional Information: Postgraduate Medical Institute, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Jul 1, 2010