The effect of social and emotional capacities on coping strategies and stress in infertile individuals

Abstract

Infertility presents a growing global concern, exerting profound physiological, psychological, and social impacts on affected individuals. To determine the effect of the social-emotional capacities of infertile individuals on their stress levels and ability to cope with infertility stress. The cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 428 at a University Hospital Fertility Center. Data were collected with the Infertility Stress Scale, the Infertility Stress Coping Strategies Scales and the Social Emotional Capacity Measurement Tool in Infertile Individuals, and surveys gathering demographic and infertility information between 15 May 2023 and 15 January 2024. The correlation between active avoidance coping, passive avoidance coping, and helplessness shows that active avoidance coping methods and passive avoidant coping methods are associated with increased helplessness. The study model showed that while the independent variable of social-emotional capacity was associated with infertility stress, age, and years of marriage, the relationship between methods of coping with infertility stress was insignificant. The factors included in the model explain 23.2% of social-emotional capacity. Nurses are available to provide consultation services to address this issue. It is crucial that healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, understand social emotional capacities of infertile patients and their needs. Patient-centered clinical interventions should consider the potential inadequacy of promoting Problem-Solving strategies. Even Avoidance can be an efficient strategy for dealing with specific infertility-related stress dimensions.