Patterns of psychological distress in infertile couples

The present investigation used a sample of 104 infertile couples to examine patterns of distress among couples. Couples were separated on the basis of which spouse(s) experienced distress: Both non-distressed (33%), Male distressed (18%), Female distressed (22%), Both distressed (27%). Most couples tended to exhibit parallel functioning (60%) with both spouses functioning at similar levels, while the remainder experienced complementary patterns with one distressed and the other not. Of particular note is the finding that a substantial number of infertile couples (18%) have a distressed husband paired with a non-distressed wife, which is counter to the general assumption that infertility is more distressing to women than to men. The Both non-distressed couples had the least overall psychological distress, with higher estimates of marital satisfaction. They and the couples from the Male distressed group had been in the treatment process less time and were drawn primarily from infertility clinics. The Female distressed group and Both distressed group had been in treatment for the longest time and were primarily recruited through RESOLVE, Inc. (a national non-profit organization for infertile people). These data illustrate the importance of considering the contextual pattern of distress in couples when considering women or men being treated for infertility.