Jo Minjeong, Shin Hyewon, Kabbe Angela, Kim Shin-Jeong
College of Nursing, The Catholic University of Korea, South Korea.
College of Nursing, Ewha Womans University, South Korea.
Heliyon. 2024 Dec 28;11(1):e41544. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41544. eCollection 2025 Jan 15.
Infertility constitutes a leading reproductive health problem with profound psychosocial outcomes, including elevated depressive symptoms that compromise quality of life (QoL). While the literature has suggested social support as a protective psychological mechanism, its role in depressive symptoms and QoL among women with infertility remains underexplored. This study aimed to examine the moderating effect of perceived social support on the relationship between depressive symptoms and QoL among South Korean women experiencing infertility.
Utilizing a cross-sectional design, this study analyzed a secondary dataset comprising 186 South Korean women with infertility. Participants were asked to complete the online survey which included the following scales: The Korean adaptation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and the Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL) tool. Moderation analysis was conducted using Hayes' PROCESS Macro 4.1 Model 1. Statistically significant effects were identified if the confidence intervals did not include zero. Depression acted as the predictor, social support as the moderator, and QoL as the dependent variable.
Depressive symptoms exhibited a moderate negative relationship with fertility QoL (r = -.41, p < .001). When stratified by PHQ-9 severity, correlations between depressive symptoms, social support, and fertility QoL were only significant for the group with mild or no depressive symptoms. In this group, depressive symptoms negatively predicted fertility QoL (ß = -.92, p < .05), and a significant interaction effect between depressive symptom severity and social support on fertility QoL was observed (ß = -1.24, p < .05).
Perceived social support has a moderating effect on the relationship between depressive symptoms and fertility QoL only for women with mild or no depressive symptoms. Consequently, nursing interventions for South Korean women with infertility should focus on emotional and social support, which include enhancing individual coping skills and facilitating community-based support networks. These can be implemented through specialized educational initiatives and expert-moderated online forums, aiming to enhance the emotional well-being of women experiencing infertility.
不孕症是一个主要的生殖健康问题，会产生深远的心理社会后果，包括导致抑郁症状加重，进而影响生活质量（QoL）。虽然文献表明社会支持是一种保护性心理机制，但其在不孕症女性抑郁症状和生活质量方面的作用仍未得到充分研究。本研究旨在探讨感知社会支持对韩国不孕症女性抑郁症状与生活质量关系的调节作用。
本研究采用横断面设计，分析了包含186名韩国不孕症女性的二次数据集。参与者被要求完成在线调查，其中包括以下量表：患者健康问卷-9（PHQ-9）的韩语改编版、感知社会支持多维量表（MSPSS）以及生育生活质量（FertiQoL）工具。使用Hayes的PROCESS宏4.1模型1进行调节分析。如果置信区间不包括零，则确定存在统计学显著效应。以抑郁为预测变量，社会支持为调节变量，生活质量为因变量。
抑郁症状与生育生活质量呈中度负相关（r = -.41，p <.001）。按PHQ-9严重程度分层时，抑郁症状、社会支持与生育生活质量之间的相关性仅在轻度或无抑郁症状组中显著。在该组中，抑郁症状对生育生活质量有负向预测作用（β = -.92，p <.05），且观察到抑郁症状严重程度与社会支持对生育生活质量有显著的交互作用（β = -1.24，p <.05）。
仅对于轻度或无抑郁症状的女性，感知社会支持对抑郁症状与生育生活质量之间的关系具有调节作用。因此，针对韩国不孕症女性的护理干预应侧重于情感和社会支持，包括提高个人应对技能和促进基于社区的支持网络。这些可以通过专门的教育举措和专家主持的在线论坛来实施，旨在提高不孕症女性的情绪幸福感。
