The value of motherhood and psychological distress among infertile women: The mediating role of coping strategies

"My Body is Betraying Me": Exploring the Stigma and Coping Strategies for Infertility Among Women Across Ethnic and Racial Groups

Female infertility remains a taboo and carries stigma across various ethnic/racial communities. Infertility-related stigma impairs women's mental well-being, strains their family relationships, and deters them from seeking treatment. In this article, we seek to understand the perceived/self-stigma of infertility and stigma management through in-depth interviews with 29 women (White, African American, and Hispanic) who were facing fertility challenges. Taking an intersectional approach, we focused on how these women's experience of infertility and their stigma coping were shaped by certain gendered, racial, and cultural ideologies deeply entrenched in contemporary U.S. society. Our findings uncovered shared stigmas and coping mechanisms as well as distinct variations that are specific to White, African American, and Hispanic women. The firsthand accounts from our participants revealed the distressing reality of marginalization and silencing of minority women's voices within their families, communities, and society at large. Furthermore, our study underscored how social interactions among women can foster competition, entrenching and bolstering hierarchical stigma power dynamics. This study contributes to the health disparity research by highlighting how women are stratified into different categories based on social class, ethnicity/race, and age. Such classifications ultimately result in differential access to health resources, perpetuating existing social inequality and division.

The Role of Positive and Negative Metacognitions About Sex in the Relationship Between Psychological Distress and Problematic Consumption of Pornography. A Mediation Model

Objective

This study aims to examine how positive and negative metacognitions about sex (MSS) mediate the relationship between psychological distress and problematic consumption of pornography.

Method

821 individuals from Romania, aged 18-70 (M = 27.21; SD = 8.74), 64.4% of whom were women.

Results

Both positive and negative MSS mediated the link between psychological distress and problematic consumption of pornography.

Conclusion

MSS plays a crucial role in understanding the dynamics between psychological distress and problematic consumption of pornography. The study contributes to filling a gap in the literature by exploring MSS in this context. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Attachment and Sexual Functioning in Couples Seeking Fertility Treatment: The Role of Infertility-Specific Coping Strategies

Couples facing infertility often experience sexual difficulties. Yet, little is known about the factors associated with these difficulties. We examined whether infertility-related coping strategies explain the associations between attachment insecurities (anxiety, avoidance) and sexual function and satisfaction in 97 couples seeking fertility treatment. Anxiety was associated with one's lower sexual satisfaction and function via self-neglect coping strategies. Anxiety was also associated with the partner's lower sexual satisfaction via self-blame coping. Avoidance was associated with lower partner support-seeking and sexual satisfaction. These findings support the roles of attachment and coping in the experience of sexual difficulties among couples seeking fertility treatment.

No Baby to Bring Home: Perinatal Loss, Infertility, and Mental Illness-Overview and Recommendations for Care

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Update readers on the state of the research on mental health, perinatal loss, and infertility with a focus on providing a comprehensive overview to empower clinicians in treating this population.

RECENT FINDINGS

Rates of psychiatric illness are increased in people that experience perinatal loss and infertility. The research remains largely below the clear need for focused screening, prevention, and treatment. Clinicians and researchers need to remain attuned to the impact of perinatal loss and infertility on the mental health of patients and families. Screening, referral, and expanded therapeutic and psychiatric resources are imperative to improving the well-being of these patients and families.

Put your phone down! Perceived phubbing, life satisfaction, and psychological distress: the mediating role of loneliness

The recent literature highlights the need to explore phubbing, a worrying growing phenomenon, and the potential associated factors and outcomes. Thus, the present study focused on perceived phubbing and the potential associations with life satisfaction and psychological distress. Additionally, this study examined the mediating role of loneliness. The cross-sectional, web-based study involved 720 Romanian adults aged 18 to 77 (M = 24.12, SD = 8.80, 74% females) who completed self-reported scales measuring perceived phubbing, and life satisfaction. Results suggested positive associations between perceived phubbing, loneliness, and psychological distress. A significant negative association was also found between loneliness and life satisfaction. Further analyses suggested that loneliness partially mediated the link between perceived phubbing and life satisfaction and between perceived phubbing and psychological distress. The study highlights the significant role of perceived phubbing when discussing psychological distress and life satisfaction, underlining the need to address further the (mis)use of digital devices (e.g., smartphones) within interpersonal relationships, as well as the need to understand better the outcomes of such behaviors to shape effective interventions in this regard.