Cognitive coping and depressive symptoms in definitive infertility: A prospective study

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to examine the relationships between infertility characteristics, cognitive coping strategies, and depressive symptoms in definitive involuntarily childless people. Both cross-sectional and prospective relationships were studied in a sample of 169 persons for whom an involuntarily childless future was definitive. The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) and the Symptom Check List (SCL-90) were filled out at home. Almost no infertility characteristics were related to depressive symptoms. The cognitive coping strategies self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing and positive reappraisal appeared to be related to depressive symptoms. In addition, catastrophizing was related to depressive symptoms two years later. These findings suggest that intervention programs for people with definitive involuntary childlessness should pay attention to cognitive coping strategies.

Keywords:

• Infertility
• involuntary childlessness
• coping
• depression
• longitudinal