Male/Female-Factor Infertility: What Contributes to Emotional Connotations for Couples?

The diagnosis of male-factor infertility or female-factor infertility brings emotional connotations for infertile couples. The present research was carried out to examine psychological consequences of male/female-factor infertility prevailing in Pakistani society. A randomly selected sample of 200 infertile couples ranging in age from 20 to 70 years was taken from different cities including Multan, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Vehari, Melsi, Bahawalpur, Lahore, and Rawalpindi- Islamabad. The six instruments including Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et al., 1961), Beck Anxiety Inventory (Beck & Steer, 1993), Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992), and Indexes of Self-Esteem, Marital Satisfaction and Sexual Satisfaction (Hudson, 1981) were used. The findings of this study were suggestive of this fact that the couples, who have male-factor infertility, are more anxious and have a decline in their level of self-esteem and sexual satisfaction as compared to couples having female-factor infertility. The results further indicated that the couples with male-factor infertility are equally depressed, aggressive and less satisfied with their marriages as the couples with female-factor infertility are.