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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on March 17, 2005
Human Reproduction 2005 20(7):1938-1943; doi:10.1093/humrep/deh845
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions{at}oupjournals.org

Psychological distress among women suffering from couple infertility in South Africa: a quantitative assessment

S.J. Dyer1,4, N. Abrahams2, N.E. Mokoena1, C.J. Lombard3 and Z.M. van der Spuy1

1 Reproductive Medicine Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Groote Schuur Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, 7925 and 2 Gender and Health Research Group and 3 Biostatistics Unit, Medical Research Council, P.O.Box 19070, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa

4 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: sdyer{at}uctgsh1.uct.ac.za

BACKGROUND: Infertility in Africa is commonly associated with negative psycho-social consequences. To date, most studies from African countries addressing these consequences have been qualitative in nature. The aim of this study was to assess psychological distress quantitatively among women suffering from couple infertility in an urban community in South Africa. METHODS: The Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), a standardized instrument for the measurement of current psychological symptom status, was administered to 120 women at the time of their first presentation to an infertility clinic in a tertiary referral centre. The control group comprised 120 women presenting to local family planning clinics. In addition, socio-demographic information and data pertaining to the prevalence of abuse was captured through a structured questionnaire designed for the purpose of this study. RESULTS: Women suffering from involuntary childlessness scored significantly higher on all sub-scales and the global indices of distress of the SCL-90-R when compared to controls. In addition, women who reported abuse from their male partners had significantly higher scores on six of the 12 test scales when compared to infertile women in non-abusive relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Involuntary childlessness is associated with high levels of psychological distress. Women in abusive relationships are particularly at risk. This result is in keeping with several qualitative studies from African countries which describe infertility as an overwhelmingly negative and distressing experience. Cognizance needs to be taken of these experiences and effective interventions require medical, psychological and socio-cultural strategies.

Key words: abuse/Africa/infertility/psychological distress/quantitative research


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