Background: Infertility influences various aspects of a woman's personality and psyche, and affects her functions within her family and occupation, as well as her ability to communicate. Studies have shown that infertility is associated with depression, stress, anxiety, dissatisfaction with life and other psychological problems. The purpose of the present study was to compare the dimensions of neuroticism and androgyny in fertile, infertile and postmenopausal women.
Methods: This study included of 180 fertile, infertile and postmenopausal women (60 in each group) selected from inpatients at Imam Khomeini and Mirza Koochak Khan Hospitals, Tehran, Iran, during 2004. Data were collected using the NEO Personality Inventory Neuroticism Scale and Bem Sex-Role Inventory and analyzed using the one-way ANOVA technique.
Results: LSD test results show that mean neuroticism scores were significantly different between the three groups, with scores following the trend: infertile women > postmenopausal women > fertile women. The mean androgyny scores were also significantly different between the three groups, following the trend: infertile women < postmenopausal women < fertile women (p<0.01).
Conclusion: The results of this research are congruent with findings from other studies. These results may be useful for infertility counseling and therapy.