Contact, moral foundations or knowledge? What predicts attitudes towards women who undergo IVF.

BACKGROUND: The willingness to try in vitro fertilization (IVF) as an infertility treatment, as well as its psychosocial consequences for couples, may be influenced by how they perceive the attitudes of general public towards this procedure. The focus of the current study was to identify predictors of attitudes towards mothers who underwent IVF to conceive a child. Three predictors were derived from attitude components: contact with someone who had undergone IVF (behavior), moral foundations (emotions), and the level of knowledge (cognition) about IVF. METHOD: In total, 817 participants (118 male and 692 female, 7 unreported) from Poland took part in the study. Participants were asked whether they knew a person who underwent IVF, completed a Moral Foundation Questionnaire, and answered a pre-piloted IVF knowledge test. Attitudes towards women who utilised IVF were measured with a modified Bogardus Social Distance Scale. Data were analysed using hierarchical and logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: The results showed that there was a weak link between previous contact with a person who underwent IVF and a positive attitude toward a woman who underwent IVF. The attitudes was also predicted by moral foundations: positively by care/harm and fairness/cheating foundations, and negatively by sanctity/degradation. Importantly, more knowledge about IVF was linked with a more positive attitude towards IVF, and this effect explained additional variance over and above moral foundations. CONCLUSIONS: Our study implies the need of psychoeducation to prevent stigmatization of individuals who try IVF due to infertility.

Comparison of Early-Stage Mothers and Childless Women Seeking Pregnancy: Experienced Stress, Resilience and Satisfaction with Relationship with the Partner.

INTRODUCTION: The birth of a child is a significant turning point in the life of a woman. It is a source of personal fulfilment, but also a great challenge. On the other hand, the inability to conceive a child in a natural way results in a serious distortion of a woman's psychic balance. Becoming a mother is an indicator of personal fulfilment and the source of social acceptation. Therefore, both becoming a mother and the inability to conceive a child in a natural way may be seen as stressful factors that impact a woman's life. AIM OF THE STUDY: The research project aimed to analyze the differences in stress, resilience and satisfaction with relationship and sexual satisfaction between early-stage mothers, i.e., women having a child and childless women seeking pregnancy. SAMPLE: The study involved 80 women-40 mothers and 40 infertile women. The mean age of the mothers was 31.10 yrs (SD = 3.76) and of the childless women seeking pregnancy-31.48 yrs (SD = 3.35). Both groups were homogenous with regards to education, place of residence, the form and time of their relationship with partners. METHOD: The perceived stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale PSS-Polish adaptation by Juczynski and Oginska-Bulik. Resilience was measured with Personal Adaptation Scale (LIRS-pl)-Polish adaptation by Malina, Pooley and Harms. The quality of the relationship was measured using the Quality of Relationship Inventory (QRI) adapted to Polish version by Suwalska-Barancewicz, Liberska and Izdebski and the sexual satisfaction was measured with the Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire by Nomejko and Dolinska-Zygmunt. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Statistical analyses indicate that the participating women differ in the level of perceived stress (higher among childless women seeking pregnancy; t = 2.721; p = 0.008), the depth/intensity of the relationship (higher among childless women seeking pregnancy; t = 2.376; p = 0.020) and conflict (higher among mothers; t = -2.829; p = 0.006). This research project proved that infertility and its consequences are not only negative. The research has shown that lower levels of relationship conflicts and greater commitment occur more frequently among infertile women than among mothers. Regardless of the observed differences in the studied sample, it is noteworthy that the compared groups are also similar to some extent. They neither differed in the level of personal resilience nor perceived support. Therefore, although the two experienced issues seem to be different, they may appear psychologically similar to some extent.

Personality and attitudes towards people with mental disorders: Preliminary studies results.

BACKGROUND: The subject of psychological research all over the world is to understand the factors conditioning relationships between healthy people and people with mental disorders. Authors analysing attitudes towards people with mental disorders emphasize the importance of two types of determinants: personality factors and demographic and social variables. AIM: The aim of the research was to determine the interdependencies between personality traits and attitudes towards people with mental disorders, taking into account the moderating role of social distance and demographic and environmental variables. METHOD: Polish version of Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness (CAMI) - Kwestionariusz Postaw (KP) was used to measure attitudes towards people with mental disorders. Personality traits were measured using the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (FFI) Personality Inventory by Costa and McCrae-Polish Adaptation, and the polish version of the Social Distance Scale was used to measure the declared social distance. In all, 204 people participated in the research: 133 women and 71 men, aged 18-65 years, living in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Greater Poland voivodeships. RESULTS: The results showed that there is a relationship between personality traits: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience and agreeableness and an attitude towards people with mental disorders. Social distance, as the proposed moderator, did not significantly change the relationship between the variables. CONCLUSION: The results of the research have confirmed the important role of personality factors for attitudes, what should be remembered to exploration of presented phenomenon.

Supportive Social Interactions in Infertility Treatment Decrease Cortisol Levels: Experimental Study Report.

PURPOSE: The aim of the research project was to analyze the importance of supportive social interactions in the process of infertility treatment. The acceptance rates of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) in Poland are lower than in western European countries and the social stigma of infertility exists. The research project draws attention to the issue of disclosure of fertility problems and the ability to seek support in Polish couples. METHODS: An experimental study was conducted with 51 heterosexual couples who qualified for IVF. The participants were randomly divided into an experimental and control group. The first stage of the research procedure, with all the couples, was to extract a saliva (cortisol) sample as a biomarker for stress. In the second stage the control group viewed an informational (non-emotional) video about human embryology. The experimental group took part in a supportive social interaction process. In the supportive social interaction process, a maximum of five couples, were led through a broad general understanding of their IVF experience by an experienced group psychologist. The third stage of the research involved the second extraction of a saliva (cortisol) sample form all participants. In addition, demographic and medical history related to fertility was collected. RESULTS: The statistical analysis indicates a significant decrease in the level of stress experienced after the supportive social interaction. The reported differences between the experimental group and the control group indicated a larger decrease of cortisol level for women and men. CONCLUSION: In the current study, the hypothesis that taking part in supportive social interaction significantly lowers stress levels (measured via cortisol) of infertile couples (men and women) was supported. Further the project indicates that a supportive social interaction has a beneficial effect on infertile couple's health and well-being. The results of the study clearly point to the benefits of couples involved in infertility treatment to express and share their experience, and in doing so, provides measurable physiological and psychological benefits.

Psychological consequences of IVF fertilization - Review of research.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Due to the reported efficacy of in vitro fertilization (IVF) this method of dealing with infertility is increasing being used. Experiencing IVF can be a source of psychological and emotional difficulties for couples trying to have a child. A systematic review was performed to discuss IVF as a psychological issue that impacts on the functioning of individuals, couples and families. Ebsco, Science Direct and PsycARTICLES databases were searched using the keywords: IVF fertilization, IVF psychology, infertility, and IVF consequences, using published peer reviewed articles from 2006 onwards. Studies in the English and Polish languages, peer reviewed and investigating general IVF and infertility psychological issues were included. Data was collected by the authors between June 2015-January 2016. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE: Studies indicate that partners going through IVF may not have enough support from their closest social environments. It is argued that these unsupportive social interactions affect the well-being of couples, can hinder conception, and therefore are one of the reasons for attrition from IVF, the most effective assisted reproduction method. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to conduct studies on the effect of supportive social interactions for the functioning of couples undergoing IVF.

Psychosocial aspects of infertility and its treatment.

Nowadays, more and more couples face impediments associated with conception. Infertility is related with experiencing psychological problems by both partners. One of the infertility treatment procedures is in vitro fertilization. Using this method has significant influence on patients and their family's psychology. This essay reviews literature about IVF treatment and discusses the significance of infertility to a couple, children development and psychosocial functioning, their relation with parents and public opinion about in vitro fertilization.