An interpretative phenomenological analysis of men’s and women’s coping strategy selection during early IVF treatment

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the coping strategies that men and women adopted during the early stages of in vitro fertilisation treatment, and explore why and how they selected those strategies. Background: Previous research has identified coping strategies used during fertility treatment and the impact of those strategies on adjustment, but not how and why individuals choose the strategies they did, which is important for understanding coping strategy use as a self-regulatory process. Methods: Three heterosexual couples took part in two or three individual semi-structured interviews over six months, producing fourteen accounts, which were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: The emergent themes were: not dwelling on emotional issues; getting on with treatment; and keeping busy with other things. Participants selected coping strategies in a conscious, deliberate way, by making comparisons with other patients and by drawing on their broader, customary ways of coping. The strategies participants adopted made sense in the context of their long-term goals as well as their short-term treatment objectives. Conclusion: This research shows that for these participants, shorterterm behavioural strategies were informed by longer-term goals, which is consistent with a selfregulatory approach to understanding how people cope with the stress of treatment for infertility.

“A peculiar time in my life”: making sense of illness and recovery with gynaecological cancer

“…Some women in our study mentioned that information from participants “further on” in the recovery process was helpful. This kind of informational/experiential support from other patients has been found to be helpful in other areas of women’s health, such as infertility (Malik & Coulson, 2008; Phillips, Elander, & Montague, 2014). This illustrates the value of using IPA to develop insights into the application of the SRM with particular conditions.…”

“…The SRM is a good fit with qualitative research into health experiences because it is essentially phenomenological (Leventhal et al, 1998), thus meshing well with qualitative approaches such as interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) (Smith, 1996). IPA and the SRM have been combined to study varioushealth issues including infertility (Phillips, Elander, & Montague, 2014), early stage dementia (Harman & Clare, 2006), non-epileptic seizures (Green, Payne, & Barnitt, 2004) and vitiligo (Thompson, Kent, & Smith, 2002). Bruner and Boyd (1999) used the SRM as a conceptual framework for developing a sexual functioning measure.…”

The nutrition and food‐related roles, experiences and support needs of female family carers of malnourished older rehabilitation patients

“…QSR International Pty Ltd, Doncaster, VIC, Australia). Thematic analysis was guided by the IPA method described by Smith et al (17) and Phillips et al (16,19) Specifically: 1 Individual interview transcripts were studied independently and on multiple occasions by SM. Line by line coding was used, and potential themes (words or short phrases) were developed for each interview, including contradictory extracts within a particular theme.…”

Experiences of men undergoing assisted reproductive technology: A qualitative systematic review

“…Approximately one-third of the studies included in the review noted that participants expressed concerns about the uncertainty of treatment success. 3,[27][28][29][30] Specifically, the participants had invested a significant amount of time, effort, and resources into the treatment, and felt that a failed attempt would have a long-lasting impact on them emotionally. 3,28 As one participant described, "I sometimes worry, whether it will work out, after all we have put in.…”

“…31,35 Uncertainty about their chances of having children led to feelings of helplessness and loss of control. 28,30,32 Moreover, in cultures where building a family is highly valued, such as Uganda, the Czech Republic, and Chile, men felt that their masculinity was threatened. 3,29,32,34 The lack of support and fear of stigmatization prevented men from sharing their ART journey with others.…”