Abstract
The objective of this study is to investigate gender differences regarding the mediator role of self-compassion and self-judgment on the effects of external shame, internal shame, dyadic adjustment, on infertility-related stress. One hundred and sixty-two women and 147 men with a primary infertility diagnosis completed the following set of self-report measures: Others as Shamer, Experience of Shame Scale, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, and Fertility Problem Inventory. Path analyses results revealed that in women self-compassion fully mediated the effect of internal shame on infertility-related stress and partially mediated the effect of dyadic adjustment on this variable, while external shame had only a direct effect. In men self-judgment fully mediated the effect of external and internal shame on infertility-related stress. Dyadic adjustment had only a direct effect on infertility-related stress. In conclusion, there is a distinct role of self-compassion and self-judgment on the relationship between shame and infertility-related stress in men and women. Such differences should be taken into account in psychological interventions with these patients. Future research is warranted to further support our results.
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Acknowledgments
The authors extend their deepest thanks to all the couples who voluntarily participated in this study. The authors also wish to thank the infertility related public services and private clinics that collaborated in data collection and to the Portuguese Fertility Association for the support provided.
Funding
This research has been supported by the first author Ph.D. Grant (SFRH/BD/68392/2010), sponsored by FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology).
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Galhardo, A., Cunha, M., Pinto-Gouveia, J. et al. The Mediator Role of Emotion Regulation Processes on Infertility-Related Stress. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 20, 497–507 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-013-9370-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-013-9370-3