Relationships between the perceived social support and adjustment to infertility in women with unsuccessful infertility treatments, Turkey-2017

Abstract

Context: It is thought that social support plays a key role in ensuring adjustment for women as a result of failed infertility treatment. Social support and infertility issues are discussed in the literature. However, a relationship between infertility treatment failure and adjustment to infertility was not detected in studies. Aims: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the perceived social support and adjustment to infertility in women with unsuccessful infertility treatments. Settings and Design: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive-analytic study performed in a university hospital in Eastern Turkey between September 2016 and September 2017. Materials and Methods: The study participants consisted of primary infertile women admitted to the clinic with at least one failed treatment experience. Two hundred and six infertile women were included in the research sample by convenience method. A demographic data form, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Fertility Adjustment Scale were used. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using in descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and frequency). The Pearson’s correlation was used and P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: There was a significant positive correlation between the perceived social support from family, friends, and significant others and adjustment to infertility (r = 0.17, P < 0.05; r = 0.35, P < 0.01; and r = 0.23, P < 0.01, respectively). Conclusions: There was a significant positive correlation between the adjustment to infertility and perceived social support from the family, friends, and the special someone of the women undergoing failed infertility treatments.