The role of gender perception, sexual myths and psychiatric symptoms in the prediction of infertility stress in infertility patients

This study aimed to examine the stress experienced during the infertility process and the effect of infertility stress on gender perception, sexual myths and psychiatric symptoms. This research has a relational screening model. The study involved 403 infertile females. Sexual Myths Form, Gender Perception Scale, Infertility Stress Scale and Brief Symptom Inventory were used to collect research data. IBM SPSS 26 statistical program was used in the analysis of the data. In order to examine the normal distribution assumption, the skewness and kurtosis were examined. Multiple linear regression analysis was used in the analysis. As a result of the research, the infertility stress score was determined as 37.51±11.92. Stress scores of women who are working, married for 7 years or more, living in an extended family, having a bad relationship with their spouse, having an infertility period of 7 years or more, and having an infertility treatment period of 7 years or more are higher than the others. The model established to determine the predictive power of gender perception, sexual myths and psychiatric symptoms on infertility stress was statistically significant (f=103.91, p=.000). Psychiatric symptoms were the most predictive variable for infertility stress (β =.671), followed by gender myths (β =-.229). The contribution of gender perception to the model (β =.065) is not statistically significant. In line with our study results, it is very important to give psychosocial training to individuals in order to reduce infertility stress. In addition, it is necessary to reach education about sexuality from childhood in order to decrease sexual myths.