Infertility-Related- Stress and Coping Strategies as Predictors of Mental Well being among Individuals with Reproductive Health Challenges in Ibadan Oyo State Nigeria

This study explored the Infertility- Related- Stress and Coping Strategies as predictors of Mental Well-being among infertile males and females in Ibadan. The study adopted a descriptive cross sectional research design using probability sampling of simple random to recruit 333 males and females going through issues of infertility at selected four hospitals in Ibadan. Respondents’ ages ranged from 21 to 60. Sample size was determined using Taro and Yamani 1967 formula. Data was collected using reliable and valid measures of mental wellbeing, Infertility-Related-Stress and coping strategies. Four hypotheses were tested. There is no significant difference between male ( = 38.75, SD = 6.57) and female ( = 38.94, SD = 6.74) on mental well-being (t (322) = -.220, p > 0.05).There is significant joint impact of problem focused, emotional focused, and avoidance coping strategies on mental well-being among the infertile males and females, R2 = .091, F (3,315) = 10.457, p < .01.There is significant joint influence of infertility-related stress (social concern, need for parenthood, rejection of child free lifestyle, and couple’s relationship concern) on mental well-being among the infertile males and females, R2 = .386, F (4, 314) = 49.34, p < .01. Age does not significantly influence mental well-being F(1, 308) = 1.32, p > .05. There is significant joint prediction of age and infertility-related stress on mental well-being F(5, 304) = 40.00, p < .01, There is significant joint prediction of age, infertility-related stress and coping strategies on mental well-being F(8, 301) = 27.61, p < .01. It was recommended that these variables should be considered when designing intervention to improve mental well-being of every individual passing through the challenges of infertility