Relationship between Exposure to Domestic Violence and Depression among Women with Infertility

Background: Infertile women show a higher level of distress, sense of loss of identity, anxiety,
feeling of self-defectiveness, and incompetence due to exposure to domestic violence associated
with their inability to bear children which may lead to the development of depression. Aim: The
current study aimed to examine the relationship between exposure to domestic violence and
depression among women with infertility. Design: A descriptive-analytical design was used in this
study. Subjects: A purposive sample consisted of 86 women with infertility who were exposed to
domestic violence. Setting: The current study was conducted at gynecology outpatient clinics, an In
vitro fertilization (IVF) unit, obstetric, and gynecology hospital, affiliated with Ain Shams
University hospitals. Tools of data collection: The data was collected using; 1) Infertile Women
Interviewing Questionnaire, 2) Infertile Women Exposure to Violence Scale (IWEVS) 3) Beck
Depression Inventory. Results: The current study showed that the highest percentage of infertile
women understudy subjected to more than one type of violence involve domestic violence,
punishment, social pressure, exposure to traditional practice, and social exclusion, representing
37.21±4.69, 25.26±4.03, 22.66±3.52, 11.92±3.00, and 9.05+2.48 respectively. Also, 40.7% of
infertile women who were exposed to domestic violence had a mild level of depression and 30.2%
of them had borderline clinical depression. Conclusions: Women with infertility experience
different types of violence involving domestic violence, punishment, social pressure, exposure to
traditional practice, and social exclusion, and more than one-third of them had a mild level of
depression. Moreover, there was a highly statistically significant correlation between exposure to
domestic violence and levels of depression among infertile women under study.
Recommendations: This study recommended that a counseling clinic should be established for
infertile women and their partners to improve their coping with stressors associated with infertility
and apply an educational interventional program for the prevention of domestic violence, and
depression among them.