Alexithymia, Stress and Depression in Infertile Women: a Case Control Study

Gourounti, Kleanthi; Maria, Giannikaki

doi:10.5455/msm.2021.33.70-74

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…This trend suggests a greater reliance on a concrete cognitive approach, possibly as a defense mechanism against the challenges of a difficult and overwhelming experience. This finding aligns with a recent study that reported similar levels of alexithymia among women facing infertility problems, compared to women without fertility problems [60], although it is not consistent with previous infertility studies [41,43,61].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Women’s Narratives on Infertility as a Traumatic Event: An Exploration of Emotional Processing through the Referential Activity Linguistic Program

Renzi,

Mariani,

Fedele

et al. 2023

Healthcare

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Background: the diagnosis of infertility and its related treatment can be traumatic, leading to profound psychological distress and a variety of psychopathological symptoms. The primary objective of this study is to contrast the linguistic features of narratives from women undergoing Assisted Reproductive Treatment with those of women not undergoing any fertility treatment. This study examines the speech of both groups of individuals as an indicator of their capacity to cope with current and past distressing experiences. Method: 44 women (mean age 36.05; SD = 4.66) enrolled in a fertility medical center in Rome, and 43 control women (mean age 36.07; SD = 3.47) completed a socio-demographic questionnaire and a semi-structured interview designed to collect their memories of a neutral, a positive, and a negative event. This interview also aimed to investigate: (a) (for women with fertility difficulties) how they realized they and their partner had fertility problems and a description of an event when they talked about these difficulties with their partner; and (b) (for control group participants) the most difficult moment of their pregnancy and an event when they talked about it with their partner. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed, and the text was analyzed using the referential process (RP) linguistic measures software. Results: Mann–Whitney non-parametric U tests for the independent samples showed several significant differences regarding the linguistic measures applied to the narratives of neutral, positive, negative, and difficult experiences in the form of a linguistic style, with more intellectualization and defenses in all the narratives associated with the women with fertility problems compared to the women in the control group. Conclusions: the traumatic and painful experience of infertility and ART seems to characterize the whole mode of narrating life experiences. Present findings sustain the importance of helping women to elaborate on their experience and to understand and recognize the difficult feelings that are activated in relation to the difficulties of having a child.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Women’s Narratives on Infertility as a Traumatic Event: An Exploration of Emotional Processing through the Referential Activity Linguistic Program

Renzi,

Mariani,

Fedele

et al. 2023

Healthcare

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“…Our results were compatible with some studies that have shown an association between alexithymia and a number of psychological problems. 4,18,19 In an explorative study it is revealed that higher maternal alexithymic traits associate with lower maternal sensitivity and more hostile maternal caregiving behavior. 3 According to another trial, maternal fetal relationship was negatively associated with maternal anxiety and alexithymia and was positively associated with social support.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does Alexithymia Effect Depression and Anxiety Scores in Third Trimester of Pregnancy?

AKTÜRK¹,

GENÇ²,

Yurci³

et al. 2022

TJRMS

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It is known that psychological factors during pregnancy are important parameters for maternal and infant health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to screen and detect alexithymia and depression and their relationship as primary outcomes to lower the risk of their possible adverse consequencies over mother and infant relationship. Material and Methods: Between May 2020 and February 2022 302 pregnant women in the third trimester of their pregnancy who applied to our antenatal check-ups in Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic of Istanbul Professor Doctor Cemil Taşçıoğlu State Hospital participated in this cross-sectional study. After the exclusion criteria were applied, a total of 260 pregnant women were found eligible for this study and the remaining 194 pregnant women agreed to participate in the study. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Beck Depression Scale and Beck Anxiety Scale questionnaire were administered to each of the participants separately. According to the results, the patients were divided into two groups according to their alexithymia scores. Patients diagnosed with alexithymia and those who were not diagnosed with alexithymia were evaluated. Results: Thirty-four (17.5%) patients diagnosed with alexithymia after TAS-20 evaluation were compared with one hundred and sixty pregnant women who did not have alexithymia. The anxiety and depression scores of the patients in the alexithymia group were significantly higher than the patients in the non-alexithymia group (p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively). There was a significant and strong correlation between TAS scores and BDI and BAI scores (r:0.365 p<0.001, r:0.305 p<0.001, respectively). A negative strong correlation between TAS scores and the marital status was also noted (r:-0.439 p<0.001). And a statistically significant negative correlation was also found between parity and the TAS score (r:-0.161 p=0.025) Conclusion: We concluded that depression and anxiety are encountered more frequently in alexithymic pregnant women. And we revealed that divorced pregnant women have higher prevalence of alexithymia in comparison to married ones. We also found a statistically significant positive correlations between the total TAS scores and the BDI and BAI scores. Finally we revealed a negative correlation between TAS scores and the marital status and the parity.

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“…The relationship between psychological factors (stress, anxiety, and depression) and infertility is rather complex, multifactorial, and bidirectional [ 17 ]. Thus, the present study aims to capture the prevalence of stress, depression, and anxiety among infertile and fertile women and to understand the relationship of psychological variables with each other.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women infertility and common mental disorders: A cross-sectional study from North India

et al. 2023

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Background Infertility is a very distressing condition. It is often associated with long-term stress, which can emerge as anxiety and depression. Aim To understand the effect of socio-demographic variables, reproductive trajectories, and lifestyle variables on stress, depression, and anxiety independently and to understand the relationship of psychological variables with each other among infertile and fertile women. Methods This cross-sectional study recruited 500 women which included 250 primary infertile cases and 250 age-matched fertile controls of the age group 22–35 years. A pretested modified interview schedule was administered which included demographic variables, lifestyle variables, and reproductive trajectories. In addition, psychological tools like PSS, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 were used to collect the data pertaining to Stress, anxiety, and depression, respectively. Data analysis was performed with the statistical software version SPSS, IBM version 24. Results Infertile women are more prone to various psychological disorder (stress, anxiety and depression). None of the demographic and lifestyle variables were associated with stress, anxiety, and depression among infertile women. Only reproductive trajectories were found to be causing stress, anxiety, and depression respectively among infertile women. In addition, stress is leading to both anxiety and depression among infertile women but only to depression in fertile women. Conclusion Infertile women should be counselled by medical experts regarding reproductive trajectories. Infertile couples should be guided and counselled to incorporate mental health screening and treatment in their routine check-up.

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Alexithymia, Stress and Depression in Infertile Women: a Case Control Study

Cited by 6 publications

References 25 publications

Women’s Narratives on Infertility as a Traumatic Event: An Exploration of Emotional Processing through the Referential Activity Linguistic Program

Women’s Narratives on Infertility as a Traumatic Event: An Exploration of Emotional Processing through the Referential Activity Linguistic Program

How does Alexithymia Effect Depression and Anxiety Scores in Third Trimester of Pregnancy?

Women infertility and common mental disorders: A cross-sectional study from North India

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