Abstract
The Israeli worldview places great significance on childbearing. This could create emotional and ethical difficulties for women coping with fertility issues in addition to their treatments. This study examined the relations between coping strategies and level of religiosity in 159 women undergoing infertility treatment. Statistically significant relations were found between the problem-solving coping style and religious observance (p < 0.01) and religious beliefs (p < 0.05). An inverse correlation was found between the emotional coping style and religious beliefs (p < 0.001). Health professionals should recognize the patient’s coping styles and understand the patient’s religious belief system as part of an ongoing fertility treatment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aarts, J. W. M., Haak, P., Nelen, W. L. D. M., Tuil, W. S., Faber, M. J., & Kremer, J. A. M. (2012). Patient-focused internet interventions in reproductive medicine: A scoping review. Human Reproduction Update, 18(2), 211–227.
Allan, H. T. (2013). The anxiety of infertility: The role of the nurses in the fertility clinic. Human Fertility, 16(1), 17–21.
Bar-Lev, M., & Kedem, P. (1989). Aliyat Hanoar Students in Religious Institutions (Research Report). Ramat-Gan: Bar Han University (Hebrew).
Benyamini, Y., Gefen-Bardarian, Y., Gozlan, M., Tabiv, G., Shiloh, S., & Kokia, E. (2008). Coping specificity: The case of women coping with infertility treatments. Psychology and Health, 23(2), 221–241.
Benyamini, Y., Gozlan, M., & Kokia, E. (2004). On the self-regulation of a health threat: Cognitions, coping, and emotions among women undergoing treatment for infertility. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28(5), 577–592.
Berek, J. S. (2012). Berek & Novak’s gynecology (15th ed., pp. 1134–1170). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Berghuis, J. P., & Stanton, A. L. (2002). Adjustment to a dyadic stressor: A longitudinal study of coping and depressive symptoms in infertile couples over an insemination attempt. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(2), 433.
Boivin, J., Bunting, L., Collins, J. A., & Nygren, K. G. (2007). International estimates of infertility prevalence and treatment-seeking: Potential need and demand for infertility medical care. Human Reproduction, 22(6), 1506–1512.
Cousineau, T. M., Green, T. C., Corsini, E., Seibring, A., Showstack, M. T., Applegarth, L., et al. (2008). Online psych educational support for infertile women: A randomized controlled trial. Human Reproduction, 23(3), 554–566.
Dutney, A. (2007). Religion, infertility and assisted reproductive technology: Best practice and clinical research. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 21(1), 169–180.
Folkman, S., Lazarus, R. S., Dunkel-Schetter, C., DeLongis, A., & Gruen, R. J. (1986). Dynamics of a stressful encounter: Cognitive appraisal, coping, and encounter outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50(5), 992–1003.
Greil, A. L., Shreffler, K. M., Schmidt, L., & McQuillan, J. (2011). Variation in distress among women with infertility: Evidence from a population-based sample. Human Reproduction, 26(8), 2101–2112.
Greil, A. L., Slauson-Blevins, K., & McQuillan, J. (2010). The experience of infertility: A review of recent literature. Sociology of Health & Illness, 32(1), 140–162.
Haimov-Kochman, R., Adler, C., Ein-Mor, E., Rosenak, D., & Hurwitz, A. (2012). Infertility associated with precoital ovulation in observant Jewish couples: Prevalence, treatment, efficacy and side effects. Israel Medical Association Journal, 14(2), 100–103.
Inhorn, M. C., & Patrizio, P. (2015). Infertility around the globe: New thinking on gender, reproductive technologies and global movements in the 21st century. Human Reproduction Update, 21(4), 411–426.
Johannes, C. B., Le, T. K., Zhou, X., Johnston, J. A., & Dworkin, R. H. (2010). The prevalence of chronic pain in United States adults: Results of an internet-based survey. The Journal of Pain, 11(11), 1230–1239.
Kahlor, L., & Mackert, M. (2009). Perceptions of infertility information and support sources among female patients who access the internet. Fertility and Sterility, 91(1), 83–90.
Latifnejad Roudsari, R., Allan, H. T., & Smith, P. A. (2014). Iranian and English women’s use of religion and spirituality as resources for coping with infertility. Human Fertility, 17(2), 114–123.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.
Maimaran, A. (2007). Stress factors, coping strategies, and adaptation in mothers of chronically ill children. Thesis submitted for the degree of “Doctor of Philosophy”. Submitted to the Senate of the Hebrew University.
Mascarenhas, M. N., Cheung, H., Mathers, C. D., & Stevens, G. A. (2012). Measuring infertility in populations: Constructing a standard definition for use with demographic and reproductive health surveys. Population Health Metrics, 10(1), 17.
McQuillan, J., Benjamins, M., Johnson, D. R., Johnson, K. M., & Heinz, C. R. (2010). Specifying the effects of religion on medical help seeking: The case of infertility. Social Science and Medicine, 71(4), 734–742.
Norton, T. R., Lazev, A. B., Schnoll, R. A., & Miller, S. M. (2009). The impact of email recruitment on our understanding of college smoking. Addictive Behaviors, 34, 531–535.
Panagopoulou, E., Vedhara, K., Gaintarzti, C., & Tarlatzis, B. (2006). Emotionally expressive coping reduces pregnancy rates in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization. Fertility and Sterility, 86(3), 672–677.
Pargament, K. I. (2001). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. New York: Guilford Press.
Rapoport, H. N., Gidron, Y., Reicher, A. R., Sapir, O., & Fisch, B. (2008). ‘‘Letting go’’ coping is associated with successful IVF treatment outcome. Fertility and Sterility, 92(4), 1384–1388.
Rosenak, D. (2007). Halakhah and Nida laws: What exists and what is desirable—A study of Halakhic replies and their medical implications—The suffering of a religious gynecologist. Deot, 32, 12–20. (Hebrew).
Sarid, O., Anson, O., Yaari, A., & Margalith, M. (2004a). Coping styles and changes in humoral reaction during academic stress. Psychology Health & Medicine, 9(1), 85–99.
Sarid, O., Anson, O., Yaari, A., & Margalith, M. (2004b). Academic stress, immunological reaction, and academic performance among students of nursing and physiotherapy. Research in Nursing & Health, 27(5), 370–377.
Schoener, C. J., & Krysa, L. W. (1996). The comfort and discomfort of infertility. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, 25(2), 167–172.
Shalev Barkay, T. (2002). The connection between religiosity and coping with infertility. Thesis submitted for the M.A. Degree in Social Sciences, Tel-Aviv University (Hebrew).
Simhi, M., Shraga, Y., & Sarid, O. (2013). Vaccination of infants and health beliefs of ultra-orthodox mothers. Journal of Vaccines & Vaccination, 5, 213. doi:10.4172/2157-7560.1000213.
Wilt, J. A., Exline, J. J., Grubbs, J. B., Park, C. L., & Pargament, K. I. (2016). God’s role in suffering: Theodicies, divine struggle, and mental health. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 8(4), 352–362.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
All of the authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors. No intervention was involved. The women answered an online questionnaire, and their consent was in their response to the online questionnaire. The ethics committee of the University approved the research and questionnaires.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grinstein-Cohen, O., Katz, A. & Sarid, O. Religiosity: Its Impact on Coping Styles Among Women Undergoing Fertility Treatment. J Relig Health 56, 1032–1041 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0344-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0344-2