Abstract:

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of personality traits of infertile women on the development of anxiety and depression. Materials and Methods: A total of 128 individuals (67 infertile and 61 fertile women), who applied to the in vitro fertilization (IVF) center and the obstetrics clinic between January 2015 and August 2016, were included in the study. The infertile group consisted of women with primary or secondary infertility who were planned or started infertility treatment. The control group consisted of fertile women with more than one child. Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) were administered to both groups. Results: There was no significant difference between the infertile and fertile groups regarding the distribution of age groups. However, the infertile group had significantly higher total mean scores of the BAI, BDI, and DAS than the fertile group. The mean scores of neuroticism, lie, dyadic satisfaction and consensus, and affectional expression was found significantly higher in the infertile group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the mean scores of extraversion, psychoticism, and dyadic cohesion subscales. According to the correlation analysis, there was a positive correlation between neuroticism and anxiety or depression. However, a weak negative correlation was found between extraversion and anxiety or depression. Conclusion: According to this study, infertile women with neuroticism personality traits may be more prone to the evolution of anxiety and depression.

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