Najdgholami Zahra, Amini Leila, Montazeri Ali, Mohammadnoori Mahshad
Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center (NMCRC), Health Management Research Institute, and Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
J Family Reprod Health. 2025 Jun;19(2):128-135. doi: 10.18502/jfrh.v19i2.19301.
Infertility and its treatments can lead to mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, stress. This study aimed to compare the effects of relaxation and expressive writing on depression, anxiety, stress, and treatment success in women utilizing assisted reproductive technology methods.
In this parallel randomized clinical controlled trial, 90 infertile women undergoing assisted reproductive technology were involved. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: writing (n=30), relaxation (n=30), and control (n=30). The writing and relaxation groups received either expressive writing or relaxation interventions, while the control group only received routine treatment. The primary outcomes measured in the study were depression, anxiety, and stress, with treatment success as the secondary outcome. All participants completed the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale at the beginning of the treatment cycle and again before ovarian puncture. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-squared, Kruskal-Wallis, and Wilcoxon tests. A p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The results showed that mean differences in depression (P=0.001) and stress scores (P=0.011) before and after intervention in the writing group were significantly higher than in the control group. Additionally, only the writing group experienced a significant decrease in depression (P=0.016). However, there was no significant difference in other measured outcomes among the three groups.
It is recommended to conduct more well-designed studies to further investigate the effects of expressive writing and relaxation techniques.
不孕及其治疗可能导致情绪障碍，如抑郁、焦虑、压力。本研究旨在比较放松和表达性写作对采用辅助生殖技术方法的女性的抑郁、焦虑、压力及治疗成功率的影响。
在这项平行随机临床对照试验中，纳入了90名接受辅助生殖技术的不孕女性。参与者被随机分为三组：写作组（n = 30）、放松组（n = 30）和对照组（n = 30）。写作组和放松组分别接受表达性写作或放松干预，而对照组仅接受常规治疗。研究中测量的主要结局为抑郁、焦虑和压力，治疗成功率为次要结局。所有参与者在治疗周期开始时以及卵巢穿刺前再次完成抑郁、焦虑和压力量表。使用卡方检验、Kruskal-Wallis检验和Wilcoxon检验进行统计分析。p值<0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
结果显示，写作组干预前后抑郁（P = 0.001）和压力得分（P = 0.011）的平均差异显著高于对照组。此外，只有写作组的抑郁有显著下降（P = 0.016）。然而，三组之间其他测量结局无显著差异。
建议开展更多设计良好的研究，以进一步探究表达性写作和放松技巧的效果。
