Sexual Function, Self-Esteem, and Quality of Life in Infertile Couples Undergoing in vitro Fertilization: A Dyadic Approach

Jie-Yu Wang; Xiao-Qing Lv; Jing-Mei Wu; Wang-Qin Tang; Gui-Ying Luo; Chun-Mei Liang; Dan-Ni Wang; Jing-Fang Hong; Yun-Xia Cao

doi:10.2147/PRBM.S378496

Sexual Function, Self-Esteem, and Quality of Life in Infertile Couples Undergoing in vitro Fertilization: A Dyadic Approach

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2022 Sep 6:15:2449-2459. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S378496. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jie-Yu Wang^{1

2}, Xiao-Qing Lv², Jing-Mei Wu², Wang-Qin Tang², Gui-Ying Luo¹, Chun-Mei Liang¹, Dan-Ni Wang³, Jing-Fang Hong², Yun-Xia Cao^{1

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Reproductive Medicine Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China.
² School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China.
³ Teaching Center for Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People's Republic of China.
⁴ NHC Key Laboratory of Study on Abnormal Gametes and Reproductive Tract, Hefei, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle (Anhui Medical University), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Hefei, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Purpose: Infertility has adverse effects on the quality of life (QoL) of infertile couples. Previous studies found important associations between sexual function, self-esteem and QoL, but mainly focused on one individual's approach rather than both partners. This study adopted a dyadic approach to evaluate the relationship between sexual function and QoL in couples with infertility through mediation and improving self-esteem.

Patients and methods: Between October 2020 and January 2021, 428 couples with infertility (n=856) undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) at a tertiary hospital in Hefei, China, were registered for the current descriptive cross-sectional research. The dyads' sociodemographic and clinical features, as well as their sexual function, self-esteem, and QoL were evaluated. The Fertility quality of life scale (FertiQoL), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and International Index of Erectile Function-15 (IIEF-15) were used to evaluate the participants. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM) was utilized to examine data from the dyadic relationships.

Results: According to the APIMeM analysis, sexual function of individuals with infertility was directly and indirectly connected with their QoL, mediated through their self-esteem. The women's sexual function was found to be positively associated with their partner's QoL, with the women's self-esteem acting as a complete mediator. The men's sexual function was found to be positively associated with partner's QoL, with the men's self-esteem acting as a complete mediator.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that boosting participants' self-esteem can help them and their partners have a better QoL. Also, therapies aimed at improving and sustaining self-esteem of couples with infertility could help mitigate the negative influence of low sexual function on their QoL.

Keywords: dyad; in-vitro fertilization; quality of life; self-esteem; sexual function.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Special Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (72004001), Central Government for Local Science and Technology Development Project (ID: 2019b11030010), Major Science and Technology Projects in Anhui Province (ID: SK2020ZD13) and Qingmiao Project of School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University (ID: hlqm2021018).