Infertility Stress as a Predictor of Marital Satisfaction in Married Couples with Infertility in Pakistan

Abstract

The objective of the current research was to determine the predictive association between infertility stress and marital satisfaction in married couples with infertility in Pakistan. The correlational study was conducted to find if there would be a significant predictive association between infertility-related stress and marital satisfaction in married couples have infertility. The study was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan from September 2023 to December 2023. 40 married couples with age ranged between 20-40 years (X̄=32.3; SD= 3.12), were selected from the Gynecology and Obstetrics departments of different hospitals and infertility clinics in Karachi, Pakistan by using purposive sampling technique. Brief interviews of the participants were carried out, and Urdu versions of Infertility-Related Stress Scale and Enriched Marital Satisfaction Scale were administered. Descriptive statistics was used for demographic characteristics of the sample, while Regression analysis was used to analyze the link between study variables. Results indicates the statistically significant predictive association between IRS and marital satisfactions in married couples with infertility (R2=.26, β=-.52, P< 0.000). The findings highlights that there exists a notable relationship between IRS and marital satisfaction, which significantly impacts individuals coping with fertility-related difficulties. These findings would help to establish specialized infertility counseling services and to enhance empathetic and impactful care, devise personalized interventions so, couples can better manage infertility-related stress, which in turn may improve marital satisfaction and overall relationship well-being.