Coping styles among Vietnamese people with infertility diagnosis: does type of infertility-related stress really matter?

Objectives: The present study aims to investigate whether each coping style used by Vietnamese people living with infertility diagnosis is associated with specific types of infertility-related stress (IRS).

Methods: In this cross-sectional design study, 997 patients with primary infertility diagnosis from three hospitals and two clinics in three regions of Vietnam completed questionnaire that consisted of Fertility Problem Inventory, the Copenhagen Multi-Centre Psychosocial Infertility and other questions. Four different linear regression analyses were performed on four coping styles. The five types of IRS and covariates were included in these models.

Findings: The results show that participants who experience all five types of IRS reported the dominant use of active-avoidance coping, while having four types of IRS, except for social concern, was associated with higher use of meaning-based coping. Utilising active-confronting coping was reported to be the outcome of experiencing increasing need for parenthood and decreasing rejection of child-free lifestyle. Choice of passive-avoidance coping was more common among those with increasing social concern and need for parenthood. Age and educational level impacted infertile people's choice of avoidance coping strategies.

Conclusions: The results provide evidence to understand the direct impact of each type of IRS on infertile people's choice of coping styles to better support them during their individual and family therapy.