Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
PLoS One. 2020 Sep 18;15(9):e0239253. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239253. eCollection 2020.
To examine the psychological impact of fertility treatment suspensions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and to clarify psychosocial predictors of better or worse mental health.
92 women from Canada and the United States (ages 20-45 years) whose fertility treatments had been cancelled were recruited via social media. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires assessing depressive symptoms, perceived mental health impact, and change in quality of life related to treatment suspensions. Potential predictors of psychological outcomes were also examined, including several personality traits, aspects of social support, illness cognitions, and coping strategies.
52% of respondents endorsed clinical levels of depressive symptoms. On a 7-point scale, participants endorsed a significant decline in overall quality of life (M(SD) = -1.3(1.3), p < .0001) as well as a significant decline in mental health related to treatment suspensions on a scale from -5 to +5 (M(SD) = -2.1(2.1), p < .001). Several psychosocial variables were found to positively influence these outcomes: lower levels of defensive pessimism (r = -.25, p < .05), greater infertility acceptance (r = .51, p < .0001), better quality social support (r = .31, p < .01), more social support seeking (r = .35, p < .001) and less avoidance of infertility reminders (r = -.23, p = .029).
Fertility treatment suspensions have had a considerable negative impact on women's mental health and quality of life. However, these findings point to several protective psychosocial factors that can be fostered in the future to help women cope.
探讨因 COVID-19 大流行而导致的生育治疗暂停对女性心理的影响，并明确心理健康状况较好或较差的心理社会预测因素。
通过社交媒体招募了 92 名来自加拿大和美国的（年龄 20-45 岁）生育治疗被取消的女性。参与者完成了一套评估抑郁症状、感知心理健康影响以及与治疗暂停相关的生活质量变化的问卷。还检查了潜在的心理结果预测因素，包括几种人格特质、社会支持方面、疾病认知和应对策略。
52%的受访者存在临床水平的抑郁症状。在 7 点量表上，参与者表示整体生活质量显著下降（M(SD) = -1.3(1.3)，p <.0001），以及与治疗暂停相关的心理健康显著下降（M(SD) = -2.1(2.1)，p <.001）。一些心理社会变量被发现对这些结果有积极影响：较低的防御性悲观主义水平（r = -.25，p <.05）、更高的不孕接受度（r =.51，p <.0001）、更好的社会支持质量（r =.31，p <.01）、更多的社会支持寻求（r =.35，p <.001）和更少的回避不孕提醒（r = -.23，p =.029）。
生育治疗暂停对女性的心理健康和生活质量产生了相当大的负面影响。然而，这些发现指向了一些可以在未来培养的保护心理社会因素，以帮助女性应对。
