Journal of Psychosexual Health

To study the impact of infertility in terms of fertility-related problems and ways of coping among male organic factor, female organic factor, and unexplained factor infertility groups suffering from primary infertility. Infertility is defined as an inability to become pregnant after 1 year of regular sexual relations without use of contraceptives. This study compared coping strategies and specific fertility problems among the 3 infertile groups.

This was a clinic-based cross-sectional comparative study based on consecutive sampling method. Sixty couples were taken, of which 10 couples were from the male factor, 10 from the female factor, and 10 from the unexplained factor group. Fertility Problem Inventory and Ways of Coping Questionnaire were the tools that were administered.

The female factor group had greater social and relationship concern and need for parenthood. Seeking social support was used more by the unexplained factor group, whereas positive reappraisal coping style was used more by the female factor group. The male factor group used confrontative and self-controlling strategy to deal with the infertility problem.

Men and women had different fertility-related concerns and used different coping methods to address these issues. Mental health professionals can address these concerns with specifically devised psychotherapy module.

Infertility is one of the major causes of mental health issues among couples. Interestingly, a large percentage of this infertility cannot be always explained in terms of a medical diagnosis. Psychological distress has long been suspected as having an important impact on infertility. However, the exact nature of association between psychological factors and infertility has been a subject matter of scientific debate. For modern urban women, there is an additional obligation of balancing work and home responsibilities; this dual role inevitably leads to stress. In this context, an important yet less-explored area of infertility is the role of work-related stress on female infertility.

This study tries to investigate the mediating role of certain psychosocial constructs viz (a) Self-efficacy related to work-family conflict—measured in terms of “work-family conflict self-efficacy scale” by Cinamon (2003), (b) perceived occupational stress—measured in terms of “work-to-family conflict scale” by Netemeyer et al (1996), (c) decision-making in family—measured in terms of “decision-making scale” by Blood and Wolfe, (d) perceived infertility stress—measured in terms of “fertility problem inventory” by Newton et al (1999) in 25 urban working women of the age range 28 to 40 years who have been experiencing medically unexplained infertility for at least 1 year; the severity of infertility being measured in terms of duration of involuntary childlessness.

The analysis reveals that severity of medically unexplained infertility can be explained in terms of “self-efficacy related to work-family conflict” and “perceived infertility stress”; 28.6% of variation in severity of unexplained infertility being contributed by “self-efficacy related to work-family conflict” and 46.9% of the variation in the severity of unexplained infertility being contributed by a conjunction of “perceived infertility stress” and “self-efficacy related to work-family conflict.”

The findings imply that urban educated women tend to place more psychological emphasis on “motherhood,” and “perceived deficit in attaining motherhood” seems to be the important source of personal stress for these women in comparison to stressors emanating from occupational hazards and family dynamics related to decision-making.

A human body keeps changing physiologically, biologically, and psychologically from birth to death. There is always a change in all human faculties. But adolescence is a phase earmarked where a human body experiences drastic changes among all these faculties. And any such bodily change carrying baggage of shame, insecurity, stigma, and concealment demands on-time awareness and intervention.

The aim of the study is to understand the knowledge and level of awareness regarding sexual and reproductive health among the school-going adolescents of Kashmir Valley where majority of the population belongs to Muslim conservative culture.

Due to COVID-19 lockdown, the inability of access to schools and children gave the researcher the opportunity to utilize the alternate places and a total of 550 students from classes 8, 9, and 10 were selected for the purpose. The permission was sought from the respective teachers and then the parents. The sample was a combination of boys and girls, students from both private and government-run schools. The researcher collected the data and it was tabulated systematically and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. P value was evaluated by using an application “P Value: A Statistical Tool” from Play Store.

The results depicted that higher the level of class, more the knowledge they had about the matter. Girls had a little knowledge about sexual and reproductive health than boys. This study felt a dire need of educating both parents and adolescent boys and girls regarding sexual health. The shame does not lie in educating the children but in the mishaps that may result due to unawareness about the same.

Infertility is a global public health problem; cost-effective patient-friendly treatment modalities along with psychosexual intervention strategies are essential for infertility control/prevention/management among ethnically disparate populations.

This study aimed to assess differential in vitro fertilization (IVF) success trends among infertile women of South Indian ethnicity.

Prospective, observational study designed in a hospital-based setting with active enrollment of infertile women undergoing IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) at Indira IVF Center, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India (April-September 2019); inclusion criteria: age >35 years, South Indian ethnicity, married >1 year, absence of full-term clinical pregnancy, endometrial thickness <6 mm/thin endometrium; exclusion criteria: prior ≥2 IVF failures, fibroids/adenomyosis/cervical cancer/endometriosis. IVF success was determined by evaluating total frozen embryos transferred/month, average oocyte yield/donor, oocyte quality, M-II oocytes, biochemical/clinical pregnancy (beta-human chorionic gonadotropin positivity/fetal cardiac activity). Mycobacterium tuberculosis positivity was assessed by GeneXpert polymerase chain reaction-based technology, and psychosexual intervention-incorporated marital relationship counseling sessions/therapy, referrals for psychiatric assessments (cognitive impairment/schizophrenia/depression). Written informed consent of participants was taken and study was approved by Institutional Review Board.

Mean age and endometrial thickness of study participants were 33.3 years (SD ±1.9) and 8.7 mm (SD ±0.5), respectively; average Body Mass Index (BMI) and anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) levels were 28.4 kg/m² and 4.7 ng/mL, respectively. Embryos transferred/month: 7 in April/13 in May/24 in June/36 in July/24 in August/30 in September, and pregnancies: 4/8/17/26/20/22 for the months of April, May, June, July, August, and September 2019, respectively. Subgroup stratification demonstrated M-II vs total oocytes retrieved were 76%, 73%, 60%, 71%, 77%, and 77%. Overall IVF success rates were 57% in April/62% in May/71% in June/72% in July/83% in August/73% in September; frozen embryo transfer success was 0 in April-May/67% in June/73% in July/89% in August/100% in September 2019. English/Tamil-speaking infertile women self-reported treatment-related satisfaction rates of 80% to 100%.

M-II oocytes’ yield, sociodemographics of infertile women, and increasing age/aberrant AMH/BMI profiles/endometrial receptivity/diminished ovarian reserve are promising predictors of IVF/ICSI success in genetically distinct patient population subset(s). Future multicentric gene epidemiology studies with larger sample size and precision-based psychiatric assessments/interventions are warranted for development of predictive biomarkers in infertility management.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have complex relationship with mental health and intimate partner violence (IPV) causing community health concern among adolescents and young adults. Women encounter behavioral, psychological, and reproductive health consequences of violence affecting across their lifespan.

To determine IPV anxiety and depression in women with STIs.

It is a hospital-based cross-sectional study. A total of 115 consecutive females between 18 and 45 years of age who attended STI clinic were enrolled. Sociodemographic details were collected by semi-structured pro forma. IPV was assessed by World Health Organization violence against women instrument; Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were applied to assess severity of anxiety and depression.

Mean age of subjects was 31.21 ± 9.08 years. About 55% of the patients had history of IPV. Psychiatric comorbidities noted in 66% of patients. The odds of IPV were more with history of child abuse, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse in husband.

IPV, anxiety, and depression in STI are in the primitive stage of validation due to associated stigma and lack of awareness. It is high time to divulge dormant triggering factors to protect vulnerable population. Current research should focus on education and women empowerment to prevent STI and mental health issues.

Dhat syndrome is a culture-bound syndrome found in men from India (and other South Asian countries), leading to a number of psychiatric problems.

The study is aimed at studying the sociodemographic correlates of patients with Dhat syndrome and the occurrence of comorbid neurotic, stress-related, and somatic symptoms. It also aims to study the severity of comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Department of Psychiatry, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute (Chennai).

Fifty patients were recruited from consecutive outpatients attending the psychiatry department and assessment was carried out using a semi-structured pro forma, Dhat Syndrome Questionnaire, and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale.

The data collected here was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.

Most patients were found to be in the second decade of life and hailed from urban areas and lower socioeconomic status. Media and peer group were the source of information for three-fourths of the patients. A majority of the patients reported with somatic symptoms. Mild to moderate anxiety and depression scores were most commonly observed.

The current study has illustrated that Dhat syndrome is associated with a lot of misinformation and leads to mild–moderate depression and anxiety symptoms, making its awareness and treatment extremely important.