Infertility treatment and the risk of drop-out of couples in a focus group research
Abstract
Conceiving a child and start a family, constitute the deepest desire of each person and it is also an important stage of development by completing the psychosocial individual and marital identity. Numerous studies say that one of the main consequences of infertile couple, are individual and psychological problems. This can lead to the onset of possible states of depression, anxiety, social isolation, sense of incompetence, and also may result psychosomatic disorders. This negative state can involve different areas of life, also at work and interpersonal relationships, furthermore of couple’s life, and such as the sexual area (Cousineau, Domar, 2007; Costa, Nazzaro, 2008; Righetti, Galluzzi, Maggino, Baffoni, Azzena , 2009).
Modern techniques in assisted reproduction treatment (ART) can be a good solution to the problem of infertility. To note is that these procedures can create a very high emotional charge with the feeling of lose of control regard intimate sphere and the sense of intrusiveness in different areas of the person both physical and psychological. Stress and too high tension, often can induce couples to abandon treatment prematurely, the so-called drop-out phenomenon. The rate of drop-out in pairs can be up about 60% (Schroder, Katalinic, Diedrich, Ludwig, 2004). It’s necessary to understand more about this high rate of drop-out and to try to prevent or at least restrict this phenomenon as well as possible. The support of couples during this process should also be considered.
Unfortunately, since today this topic is still unusual and even in science it is still unclear. This research presents a focus group of eleven students of psychology. Their job is to investigate the representations of the ART and the risk of drop-out in couples and to explore the knowledge related to the ART in a general sample
