Family- Work Conflicts and Defensive Mechanisms in Infertile and Fertile Working Women

Document Type : علمی - پژوهشی

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of humanities, Khayyam University, Mashhad, Iran.

2 B.A. in Psychology, Khayyam University, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

According to the academic literature,
infertility is a feeling of helplessness that
affects the general Psychological health in
women. Psychoanalytic theories believe
that infertility is a defensive response to
ambivalent feelings about maternity and
individual goals. This research aims to
investigate the discriminating power of
work family conflicts questionnaire and
Defensive Styles Questionnaire (DSQ) in
infertile and fertile women.
Work family conflicts questionnaire and
DSQ, were administered on a sample of
47 working infertile women (52.8%) in
Novin infertility clinic and 42 (47.2%)
fertile women. Discriminant function
analysis result showed that 67.7% of
samples can be differentiated according
these two variables (Wilks’ Lambda=
0.85, X2= 10.14, p<0.05). Results showed
that infertile women, compared to fertile
ones have more conflicts and more defensive
mechanisms. According to psychoanalytic
theories these results can be
explained as psychological suppression of
fertility. Intolerance of ambivalence and
conflict between career goals and desires
for parenthood has a psychological
suppressing impact in fertility.

Keywords

Journal of Family Research
Volume 17, Issue 3 - Serial Number 67
December 2021
Pages 455-466

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