Agreement on Perceptions of Quality of Life in Couples Dealing With Infertility

  1. Juliana Rigol Chachamovich1,
  2. Eduardo Chachamovich2,
  3. Hélène Ezer3,
  4. Marcelo Pio Fleck4,
  5. Daniela Riva Knauth5,
  6. Eduardo Pandolfi Passos6

Article first published online: 2 SEP 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2010.01168.x

Issue

Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing

Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing

Volume 39, Issue 5, pages 557–565, September/October 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

Chachamovich, J. R., Chachamovich, E., Ezer, H., Fleck, M. P., Knauth, D. R. and Passos, E. P. (2010), Agreement on Perceptions of Quality of Life in Couples Dealing With Infertility. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 39: 557–565. doi: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2010.01168.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    RN, PhD, School of Nursing, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.

  2. 2

    MD, PhD, McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Douglas Mental Health Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.

  3. 3

    RN, PhD, School of Nursing, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2A7.

  4. 4

    MD, PhD, Post-Graduate Program in Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, Brazil.

  5. 5

    PhD, Social Medicine Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, Brazil.

  6. 6

    MD, PhD, Post-Graduate Program in Medicine, Assisted Reproduction Service, Gynecology and Obstetrics Department, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, Brazil.

*Correspondence Juliana Rigol Chachamovich, RN, PhD, 3465 Redpath 1001, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3G 2G8. jurigol@videotron.ca

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 2 SEP 2010
  2. Article first published online: 2 SEP 2010
  3. Accepted May 2010

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Keywords:

  • agreement;
  • infertility;
  • quality of life;
  • couples;
  • WHOQOL;
  • congruence

ABSTRACT

Objective: To examine the extent to which men and women seeking treatment for infertility were able to accurately perceive their partners' ratings of their quality of life (QOL).

Design: Cross-sectional prospective study. Quality of life was measured as a multidimensional construct.

Setting: Assisted reproduction clinic of a university hospital.

Participants: One hundred and sixty-two couples participated. The men's and women's mean ages were 36.1 and 32.1 years, respectively. Most participants had no children, and no previous assisted reproduction attempts.

Methods: Men and women completed the World Health Organization-Quality of Life-Brief (WHOQOL-Brief) and the Beck Depression Inventory independently. Paired t tests were used to explore men's perceptions of their wives' QOL ratings and wives' perceptions of their husbands' ratings. Multiple regression and repeated-measures ANCOVA were used to examine the role of depression.

Results: Proxy assessments were consistently lower than self-reports on the domains of QOL. The influence of depression on agreement was minimal, and no gender effect was observed.

Conclusion: Findings indicated little agreement in perceptions of the partner's QOL, with each partner tending to underrate the other's view. Practitioners need to consider the differences between partners to enable partners to better understand and support each other.

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