The association of cognitive representations with psychological adjustment in experience of infertility and fertility treatment: A systematic review

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The aim of this systematic review was to examine studies describing the association of cognitive representations with psychological adjustment or maladjustment during the experience of infertility and its treatment in light of the Common-Sense Model. According to this theoretical model cognitive perceptions about an illness can be associated with emotional adaptation. METHODS A systematic search of four electronic databases (PubMed, APA PsycINFO, SCOPUS, ScienceDirect) was performed. This review considered only quantitative, primary studies in the English language without geographical limitations, published during the period 1996-2020 and relevant to the objective. The population of interest was infertile individuals who are having or not having infertility treatment. Only studies that examined the association between independent variables, such as perceived causes, timeline, controllability, consequences, symptoms, illness coherence and emotional representations, with psychological variables, such as anxiety, worry, distress, depression and well-being, were included. Two authors performed an independent extraction of articles using predefined data fields. Relevant articles were critically appraised and a narrative synthesis was conducted. RESULTS Seven cross-sectional studies met the inclusion and methodological criteria and were included in the review. The review results revealed that all components of cognitive representations of infertility and its treatment may correlate with psychological adaptation of people who deal with a fertility problem, at intrapersonal and interpersonal level. CONCLUSIONS This systematic review suggested that the Common-Sense Model is an appropriate theoretical model to be applied in the experience of infertility and health professionals can make interventions based on modifying cognitive perceptions of a fertility problem that may increase levels of psychological well-being and decrease levels of distress.

Influence of illness representations on coping strategies and psychosocial outcomes of infertility: Systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Our review was the first to study the application of CSM to infertility by adopting a rigorous methodological approach (e.g., preregistration, assessment of risks of bias) and exploring the links between representations of infertility and both coping and psychosocial outcomes. It was to complement the results yielded by the recent review of Moutzouri et al (2021) that our review examined associations between representations of infertility and coping. This was an important research initiative, as it offered a more comprehensive view of the application of CSM to infertility.…”

“…It was to complement the results yielded by the recent review of Moutzouri et al (2021) that our review examined associations between representations of infertility and coping. This was an important research initiative, as it offered a more comprehensive view of the application of CSM to infertility.…”

“…However, to our knowledge, no systematic review has yet quantified the associations in infertility using the CSM framework. A systematic review on this topic was recently conducted by Moutzouri et al (2021). Although their review was very comprehensive, thorough and detailed, it had several methodological limitations that led to reservations about the reliability of the results.…”

“…Leventhal's common‐sense model of self‐regulation (CSM; Leventhal et al, 1980) appears to be particularly appropriate here. It is known that: Illness representations of infertility are related to the coping strategies implemented by infertile individuals to deal with stressors such as infertility and treatment (for a review, see Moutzouri et al, 2021). Illness representations of infertility are also associated with the negative psychosocial consequences of infertility, such as anxiety, depressive symptoms and poor quality of life (for a review, see Lafarge & Fox, 2012).…”

Effect of Existential Group Therapy on Infertility Stress in Infertile Men’s Spouses

“…When women's husbands are infertile, they experience reactions such as anxiety, stress, depression, and sadness. These women are stressed due to losing the ability to become mothers [13,14].…”