Managing multiple goals during fertility treatment: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Phillips, Elly; Elander, James; Montague, Jane

doi:10.1177/1359105312474915

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The results of a discrete choice experiment in Dutch and Belgian fertility clinics suggested that patients were willing to trade-off a higher pregnancy rate for more patient-centered care from physicians [29]. Scheduling and attending a consultation with an RS is just one of many family-building decisions patients and their partners will make if they proceed through fertility treatments, and in those subsequent decisions patients and their partners must balance their parenthood goals with other simultaneous and sometimes competing priorities, as also demonstrated in previous qualitative work [18]. The RS’s treatment recommendations must take into account patient and partner values and priorities along with their health history and test results.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The three groups were more similar than different in terms of their reasons for pursuing parenthood, with respondents overwhelmingly endorsing a core “triad” of reasons to pursue parenthood: giving love, receiving love, and added enjoyment/fun in life. A phenomenological analysis of three couples over six months after beginning treatment with in vitro fertilization found that couples balanced their main goal of achieving parenthood with four other goals: biological parenthood, retaining emotional well-being, remaining financially secure, and maintaining good relationships with partners [18]. Finally, Thompson et al found that in 37 couples seeking infertility treatment, both partners reported placing similar levels of importance on reaching the goal of parenthood [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Priorities for family building among patients and partners seeking treatment for infertility

et al. 2017

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BackgroundInfertility treatment decisions require people to balance multiple priorities. Within couples, partners must also negotiate priorities with one another. In this study, we assessed the family-building priorities of couples prior to their first consultations with a reproductive specialist.MethodsParticipants were couples who had upcoming first consultations with a reproductive specialist (N = 59 couples (59 women; 59 men)). Prior to the consultation, couples separately completed the Family-Building Priorities Tool, which tasked them with ranking from least to most important 10 factors associated with family building. We describe the highest (top three) and lowest (bottom three) priorities, the alignment of priorities within couples, and test for differences in prioritization between men and women within couples (Wilcoxon signed rank test).ResultsMaintaining a close and satisfying relationship with one’s partner was ranked as a high priority by majorities of men and women, and in 25% of couples, both partners ranked this factor as their most important priority for family building. Majorities of men and women also ranked building a family in a way that does not make infertility obvious to others as a low priority, and in 27% of couples, both partners ranked this factor as the least important priority for family building. There were also differences within couples that involved either men or women ranking a particular goal more highly than their partners. More women ranked two factors higher than did their partners: 1) that I become a parent one way or another (p = 0.015) and 2) that I have a child in the next year or two (p < 0.001), whereas more men ranked 4 factors higher than their partners: 1) that our child has [woman’s] genes (p = 0.025), 2) that our child has [man’s] genes (p < 0.001), 3) that I maintain a close relationship with my partner (p = 0.034), and 4) that I avoid side effects from treatment (p < 0.001).ConclusionsClinicians who support patients in assessing available family-building paths should be aware that: (1) patients balance multiple priorities as a part of, or beside, becoming a parent; and (2) patients and their partners may not be aligned in their prioritization of achieving parenthood. For infertility patients who are in relationships, clinicians should encourage the active participation of both partners as well as frank discussions about each partner’s priorities for building their family.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Priorities for family building among patients and partners seeking treatment for infertility

et al. 2017

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“…When explaining their strategy selection, participants referred to their longer-term aims and goals, of which parenthood and biological parenthood was just one, reflecting the way that people in fertility treatment manage multiple goals (Phillips et al, 2014). Their strategy selection was also informed by the link they perceived between stress and infertility, so that they attempted to control the pressure and stress they experienced in order to improve their chances of conception.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The self-regulation model (SRM) focuses on how individuals attempt to attain their goals through the cycle of evaluation, coping strategy selection, re-evaluation and adjustment (Carver, Scheier, & Fulford, 2008). A self-regulatory framework has previously helped to understand how people managed multiple goals during treatment for infertility (Phillips, Elander, & Montague, 2014), and in this study we applied the same conceptual framework to participants' experiences of coping strategy selection during their first six months undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Phillips

Elander

Montague

2014

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology

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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.

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“…El Kissi et al (2014) found greater emotional maladjustment, emotional disturbances, and worse quality of life in infertile couples compared to general population. Also, variables such as coping strategies and alexithymia were analyzed with an interest in their relationship with the emotional distress experienced in infertility (Phillips, Elander, & Montague, 2014;Shi, Wu, & Zhu, 2006).…”

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confidence: 99%

Psychological predictor variables of emotional maladjustment in infertility: Analysis of the moderating role of gender

2015

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a b s t r a c tThe objective of this study is to find out if the variables state-anxiety, trait-anxiety, positive-affect, negative-affect, alexithymia, and adaptive (personal and interpersonal) resources can predict emotional maladjustment in infertile people, taking into account the potentially moderating role of gender. A sample of 101 participants with an infertility diagnosis (51 males and 50 females) completed a battery of psychological tests (DERA, Emotional Maladjustment and Adaptive Resources in Infertility questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI], PANAS, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and TAS-20, [Toronto Alexithymia Scale]). The moderating, partial, and interactive effects of the variables were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. The resulting model explained 71.1% of total variance, resulting in gender as an important moderating variable and trait anxiety, state anxiety, negative affect, and low interpersonal resources as strong predictors of emotional maladjustment in infertile people. These results provide guidance in selecting the most appropriate psychological support and treatment for the emotional adjustment of infertile women and men.Variables psicológicas predictoras del desajuste emocional en personas infértiles: análisis del papel modulador del sexo r e s u m e n El objeto del estudio es determinar si las variables ansiedad-estado, ansiedad-rasgo, afecto positivo, afecto negativo, alexitimia y recursos adaptativos (personales e interpersonales) pueden predecir el desajuste emocional en personas infértiles, analizando el posible papel modulador del sexo en dicho desajuste. Participaron en el estudio 101 personas con un diagnóstico de infertilidad (51 hombres y 50 mujeres) que respondieron a una batería de pruebas psicológicas (DERA, Cuestionario de Desajuste Emocional y Recursos Adaptativos en Infertilidad, Inventario de Ansiedad Estado-Rasgo [STAI], PANAS, Escala de Afectos Positivos y Negativos y TAS-20 [Escala de Alexitimia de Toronto]). Los efectos moduladores, parciales y de interacción de las variables se analizaron mediante un análisis de regresión de orden jerárquico. El modelo resultante explica el 71.1% de la varianza total, constituyendo el sexo una importante variable moduladora, mientras las variables ansiedad-rasgo, ansiedad-estado, afecto negativo y bajos recursos interpersonales actúan como importantes predictores del desajuste emocional en personas infértiles. Los resultados pueden ayudar en la elección de apoyos y tratamientos psicológicos y adecuados para alcanzar el ajuste emocional en hombres y mujeres infértiles. © 2014 Colegio Oficial de Psicologos de Madrid. Producido por Elsevier España, S.L.U. Todos los derechos reservados. Palabras clave: Desajuste emocional Ansiedad Afectos Alexitimia Recursos adaptativos Infertilidad i n f o r m a c i ó n a r t í c u l o

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Managing multiple goals during fertility treatment: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Cited by 25 publications

References 49 publications

Priorities for family building among patients and partners seeking treatment for infertility

Priorities for family building among patients and partners seeking treatment for infertility

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

Psychological predictor variables of emotional maladjustment in infertility: Analysis of the moderating role of gender

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