Infertility is not only a medical condition but also often leads to significant psychological distress. Studies indicate that up to 40% of infertile women may qualify for a psychiatric diagnosis, with depression and anxiety being particularly prevalent. This psychological burden is generally greater in women than in men and can negatively impact the effectiveness of assisted reproduction techniques (ART).
Psychosocial interventions have been shown to enhance mental well-being and increase the chances of pregnancy for infertility patients. Despite this, there is a notable gap between the prevalence of distress among infertility patients and the number who seek psychological support. The psychological condition of patients often worsens with repeated unsuccessful attempts, underscoring the need for regular mental health assessments using validated tools throughout the treatment process.
Several psychometric instruments are available to evaluate adjustment to infertility, with a shift from generic tools to those specifically designed for this population. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology identifies 12 tools for this purpose, including both generic and specific instruments. Among these, the FertiQoL and SCREENIVF are the most comprehensive. FertiQoL assesses needs across behavioral, emotional, and social-relational domains, while SCREENIVF, recommended for screening, evaluates emotional, social-relational, and cognitive aspects quickly.
Both the FertiQoL and SCREENIVF have been validated in Hungarian. The SCREENIVF includes five subscales: anxiety, depression, social support, feelings of helplessness, and infertility acceptance, all reflecting a common underlying construct. It has been validated in multiple languages, including Portuguese, Dutch, and Turkish, but the Hungarian version, validated on a smaller sample, showed promising reliability but limited specificity.
This study aims to re-evaluate the psychometric properties and screening effectiveness of the Hungarian SCREENIVF using a larger sample of Hungarian women undergoing ART. We hypothesize that (1) the SCREENIVF will maintain robust psychometric properties in the Hungarian context, and (2) it will effectively identify patients who require further evaluation for mood disturbances when applying cutoffs for the Depression subscale and the SCREENIVF Risk Factor scale against real data.
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