The Effect of Perceived Social Support on Life Satisfaction in Infertile Women Undergoing Treatment: Mediating Role of Positive Thoughts

Background: Infertility is a prevalent issue among humans that can lead to negative psychological consequences for couples. Objective: This study aims to explore how perceived social support impacts the life satisfaction of infertile women who are undergoing treatment, with positive thoughts playing a mediating role. Materials and methods: This study is a component of descriptive-correlational research and utilized the cross-sectional research method and structural equation modeling (SEM). The target population for this study consisted of all infertile women receiving treatment in Tehran who sought assistance from infertility treatment centers between July and November ۲۰۲۳. The selected sample size included ۱۷۸ medically treated infertile women who were chosen through purposive sampling. The assessment tools employed were the Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Positive Automatic Thoughts questionnaire (ATQ-P). Descriptive statistics were conducted using SPSS version ۲۷ software, while the path between variables was analyzed using SmartPLS version ۴ software. Sobel's test was similarly employed to determine the significance of the mediator variable. The significance level for this study was set at ۰.۰۵. Results: According to the results of the research, the influence of social support on life satisfaction was both positive and significant (β=۰.۱۶۵, P=۰.۰۰۱). Similarly, social support had a positive and significant impact on positive thoughts (β=۰.۴۸۸, P<۰.۰۰۱). Conclusion: The findings of the current research indicated that social support has a positive impact on both life satisfaction and positive thoughts.

Keywords:

Perceived social support , life satisfaction , Infertile women , Positive-thoughts