Diagnostic ambiguity and psychosocial distress among Chinese women with idiopathic and non-idiopathic infertility

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate how women with different diagnoses on their cause of infertility—non-idiopathic (female, male, mixed), or idiopathic (unknown causes)—display different levels of psychosocial well-being prior to their IVF treatment. Women who attended an assisted reproduction clinic were recruited to fill out a set of questionnaire about 3 months before the start of their first IVF treatment cycle (valid N = 330). Measures included anxiety, somatic, emotional, and spiritual distress, as well as marital satisfaction. Somatic distress was found to be highest among women without a known cause of infertility. Women with mixed-factor diagnosis reported significantly lower emotional distress. Spiritual distress was found to be the highest in female-factor infertility group. Results remained significant after controlling for marital satisfaction. The current findings suggest that facing infertility whose cause is unexplained, women may express their distress through somatic complaints. Where a physiological cause can be identified, emotional and spiritual distress are paradoxically lower when both wife and husband are perceived to share the responsibility for the condition. Results can inform healthcare professionals about the psychological needs of women with different diagnoses of infertility prior to their IVF treatment.