The contribution of personality and cognitive variables to the well-being, personal growth and marital satisfaction of women undertaking fertility treatments

In recent decades there has been a significant increase in the number of women coping with infertility. During the course of treatment, women may experience many difficulties and losses, both intrapersonal and interpersonal. This experience may challenge the couple's relationship, as well as the woman’s subjective life satisfaction. A considerable amount of the professional literature on infertility focuses on the difficulties that accompany this experience, but recent years have seen a rise in studies dedicated to positive psychological changes that occur in this context, including personal growth. The current study aims to examine the contribution of personality variables - self-disclosure, emotional regulation and self-mastery - to well-being, personal growth, and couple relationship satisfaction. The present study will also examine differences between women who have been coping with infertility treatments for a prolonged period compared to those who have been coping with treatments for a short period. This study relies on the positive psychology movement, on post-traumatic growth theories, and, more specifically, on the theoretical model of personal growth by Schaefer & Moos (1992), which addresses positive results following crises or major life transitions.

The study was conducted using a quantitative research method and included 164 women of childbearing age (18-45), in heterosexual relationships, undergoing fertility treatments to conceive their first child. The study compared 109 women who have been in treatment for up to one-year with 55 women who have been in treatment for over one-year. The participants were recruited through support groups using social media and via the snowball method. Data collection was conducted using electronic self-report questionnaires, including well-being, personal growth, couple relationship satisfaction, self-disclosure, emotional regulation, self-mastery, details regarding infertility, and sociodemographic data.

The findings indicate that higher self-exposure is associated with greater well-being, personal growth and couple satisfaction. It was also found that higher self-mastery is associated with greater well-being, personal growth and couple satisfaction. In addition, greater use of the reassessment strategy of emotional regulation is associated with greater well-being and personal growth, while greater use of the emotion-suppression strategy of emotional regulation is associated with lower well-being. Additionally, the findings reveal a difference in the levels of well-being and personal growth between the groups, so that women who have been undergoing treatments for a longer period of time reported greater personal growth and lower mental well-being than women who have spent a shorter period in treatments. No difference was observed between the two study groups in couple satisfaction. It is important to note that, in the current study, duration of time spent in fertility treatments did not moderate the association between self-disclosure, emotional regulation, and self-control, on the one hand, and mental well-being, personal growth, and couple satisfaction, on the other.

The present study enriches the understanding and knowledge about similarities and differences between women undergoing fertility treatments for short and prolonged periods of time, and sheds additional light on the possibility of experiencing personal growth even when facing the challenges of fertility treatments. The findings of the study add to the existing knowledge on the significant differences between mental well-being and personal growth, and emphasize the importance of sense of control for women undergoing fertility treatments. On a practical level, it is important that professionals in the field of fertility treatments be aware that there are differences between women undergoing fertility treatments, but there are also common experiences shared by all women coping with infertility. Lastly, it is important that professionals in the field recognize the inherent potential a crisis can have in driving processes of personal growth and learn to recognize the positive consequences of these stressful life events.