Psychological distress in infertile women: the role of quality of marital relationships and self-compassion

Infertility is a common disease. At least 10-15% of women deal with infertility in some way. Infertile women suffer from a higher degree of psychological distress compared to fertile women. This study aims to identify the role of the quality of marital relationships and self-compassion in psychological distress in infertile women. The participants were 400 women who were referred to fertility clinics in Iran over a two-year period. Questionnaires containing Demographic Questionnaire, Psychological Distress Scale (DASS), Marital Quality Scale (MQS) and Self-Compassion Scale (MCS). The results showed that predictor variables explain a total of 29.9% of the variance of psychological distress in infertile women. The quality of marital relationships (p = 0.001 and β = -0.49) and self-compassion (p < 0.05 and β = -0.08) can negatively predict the psychological distress of infertile women. Considering that the significant role of the quality of marital relationships and self-compassion in the psychological distress of infertile women has been confirmed; therefore, interventions that focus on the quality of marital relationships and self-compassion may be effective and should be used as a resource to combat psychological distress in infertile women.