The Relationship Between Social Support Perceived By Infertile Couples and their Mental Status

Aim: To determine the relationship between the mental status of couples receiving infertility treatment and their perceived social support. Study desing:Descriptive study Place and duration of study:In Vitro Fertilisation Center between January and April 2018 in a university hospital in Antalya. Methods: 148 infertile couples who received infertility treatment at the data of the research were gathered through a questionnaire for determining socio-demographic and infertility related characteristics of the couples receiving infertility treatment, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Brief Symptom Inventory. Results: In the study, the average age of infertile women was 31.4 +/- 5.6 and that of men was 34.5 +/- 5.2. In the study, the mean Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Supportscore of the women was determined to be 62.6 +/- 14.2, whereas that of the men 59.2 +/- 14.2. The mean score received by the women from depression subscale of Brief Symptom Inventory was determined to be 10.2 +/- 8.9, and the mean score received by the men 6.7 +/- 6.6. A strong negative relationship between the total Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Supportscore and the Brief Symptom Inventory subscale mean scores (p<0. 01). Conclusions: As a result of the research, as the social support levels perceived by couples receiving infertility treatment increased, their symptoms of anxiety, depression, negative self-perception, somatization, and hostility was determined to decrease.