An interpretative phenomenological analysis of men's and women's coping strategy selection during early IVF treatment

Objectives: To describe the coping strategies that men and women adopted during the early stages of in vitro fertilisation treatment, and explore why and how they selected those strategies. Background: Previous research has identified coping strategies used during fertility treatment and the impact of those strategies on adjustment, but not how and why individuals choose the strategies they do, which is important for understanding coping strategy use as a self-regulatory process. Methods: Three heterosexual couples took part in 2 or 3 individual semi-structured interviews over 6 months, producing 14 accounts, which were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: The emergent themes were: not dwelling on emotional issues; getting on with treatment; and keeping busy with other things. Participants selected coping strategies in a conscious, deliberate way, by making comparisons with other patients and by drawing on their broader, customary ways of coping. The strategies participants adopted made sense in the context of their long-term goals as well as their short-term treatment objectives. Conclusion: This research shows that for these participants, shorter-term behavioural strategies were informed by longer-term goals, which is consistent with a self-regulatory approach to understanding how people cope with the stress of treatment for infertility.