Is a dyadic stressor experienced as equally distressing by both partners? The case of perceived fertility problems.
Julia McQuillanArthur L GreilAnna RybińskaStacy TiemeyerKarina M ShrefflerColleen Warner ColanerPublished in: Journal of social and personal relationships (2020)
Using data from a population survey, this article explores whether perceptions of having a fertility problem among 926 U.S. couples in heterosexual relationships (women aged 25-45 and male partners) are associated with distress. Most couples did not perceive a fertility problem (58%). In almost a third (30%) of the couples, only women perceived a fertility problem; in 4%, only the men; and in nearly a fifth (19%), both perceived a problem. Adjusted for characteristics associated with fertility problems and depressive symptoms, those who perceived a problem exhibited significantly more depressive symptoms than those who did not. Fertility problems are sometimes experienced as individual because in some couples only one partner perceives a problem or has higher distress in response to their own rather than to their partners' perceived problems. For women, fertility problems are experienced as a couple phenomenon because women were more distressed when both partners perceive a problem. The perception of fertility problems is gendered in that women were more likely to perceive a problem than men. Furthermore, men are most distressed when they perceive a problem and their partner does not.
Keyphrases
- mental health
- depressive symptoms
- social support
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- childhood cancer
- physical activity
- pregnancy outcomes
- hiv testing
- healthcare
- breast cancer risk
- sleep quality
- pregnant women
- metabolic syndrome
- type diabetes
- machine learning
- adipose tissue
- cross sectional
- electronic health record
- hepatitis c virus
- deep learning
- human immunodeficiency virus
- intimate partner violence