ADAPTATION IN MARITAL PARTNERS WITH FERTILITY PROBLEMS: TESTING A MIDRANGE THEORY DERIVED FROM ROY'S ADAPTATION MODEL.
Contributors: Wayne State University.
Published: 1996
Number of pages: 275
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Social.; Sociology, Individual and Family Studies.
Description: This cross-sectional study tested nine hypotheses developed from a midrange theory derived from Roy's Adaptation Model and previous research with marital partners with fertility problems. One hundred and twenty one couples with fertility problems and a comparison group of fifty presumed fertile couples constituted the sample. Variables included in the study were: coping strategies, physical demands, self-esteem, home and work functioning, social support and conflict, subjective well-being, and marital satisfaction.

Use of some coping strategies and levels of coping effectiveness were found to be related to levels of physical demands, self-esteem, home and work functioning and social support. Physical demands were inversely related; self-esteem was positively related; home and work function was positively related; social support was positively related; and conflict was inversely related with levels of subjective well-being and marital satisfaction for the couples with fertility problems. Partner's spousal well-being and marital satisfaction were positively correlated. Coping strategies, adaptive mode variables, and spousal well-being and marital satisfaction contributed a significant amount of variance to subjective well-being and marital satisfaction for infertile partners. The majority of the hypotheses were supported.

Four research questions were also included in this study. Differences were found in the use of confrontive, emotive, palliative, supportant and total use scores between infertile wives and infertile husbands in the sample. Differences in coping effectiveness were found in optimistic, fatalistic, palliative, and supportant scores for infertile wives and husbands. Differences were also found between infertile wives and their husbands in levels of physical demands, self-esteem, interpersonal support, reciprocity, subjective well-being and dyadic consensus. Gender related differences were also found between the scores of wives and husbands in general in: coping strategies use and effectiveness, self-esteem, interpersonal support, reciprocity, and subjective well-being.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-12, Section: B, page: 7448.

Thesis (PH.D.)--WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY, 1996.

School code: 0254.