Psychometric characteristics of the FertiQoL questionnaire in a German sample of infertile individuals and couples.
Abstract Background FertiQoL is a questionnaire internationally developed to measure fertility-specific quality of life. It has been validated with infertile populations in many countries and used in several studies focusing on the psychosocial consequences of infertility in Europe, Asia, and North...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2018-12-01
|
| Series: | Health and Quality of Life Outcomes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12955-018-1058-9 |
| _version_ | 1818127044426334208 |
|---|---|
| author | R. E. Sexty G. Griesinger J. Kayser M. Lallinger S. Rösner T. Strowitzki B. Toth T. Wischmann |
| author_facet | R. E. Sexty G. Griesinger J. Kayser M. Lallinger S. Rösner T. Strowitzki B. Toth T. Wischmann |
| author_sort | R. E. Sexty |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background FertiQoL is a questionnaire internationally developed to measure fertility-specific quality of life. It has been validated with infertile populations in many countries and used in several studies focusing on the psychosocial consequences of infertility in Europe, Asia, and North America. Methods Over a period of two years, 596 infertile women and men took part in the study conducted at three German fertility clinics. Psychometric properties of FertiQoL were tested by performing confirmatory factor analyses, calculating average variance extracted values, reliability and correlation coefficients. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine the relations between FertiQoL subscales and both sociodemographic and medical variables. Individual and cross-partner effects were tested for. Results The confirmatory factor analyses conducted on our FertiQoL data supported the original four-factor solution for both women and men but, resulted in some unsatisfactory indices. Family and friends’ support items loaded weakly on the Social subscale of FertiQoL (.27 and .34 in women, .32 and .19 in men). The Emotional and Mind/Body subscales revealed a strong intercorrelation (r = .77, p < .001 in women, r = .74, p < .001 in men). Women scored lower than men on the Emotional and Mind/Body subscales only, and they reported better fertility-specific relational QoL. In women, the perceived cause of infertility and already mothering a child related significantly to individual FertiQoL scores, while in men, age, educational level, and the duration of their wish for a child had an impact on the FertiQoL subscales (all p < .05). The men’s educational level, the women’s educational level, and the subjective perceived medical cause of fertility problems exerted cross-partner effects on QoL (all p < .05). Conclusions Our study results represent a contribution both to research and clinical practice. The findings suggest the importance of considering the personal experience of infertility in different cultural and gender specific settings and that the strong connections between the emotional, physical, and cognitive aspects of an individual’s fertility-specific quality of life should be regarded as a more coherent system. Trial registration DRKS: DRKS00014707. Registered 1 May 2018 (retrospectively registered). |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T07:11:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-239facb0744b415f85825dd2e56fdc7f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1477-7525 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T07:11:06Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health and Quality of Life Outcomes |
| spelling | doaj.art-239facb0744b415f85825dd2e56fdc7f2022-12-22T01:16:20ZengBMCHealth and Quality of Life Outcomes1477-75252018-12-0116111010.1186/s12955-018-1058-9Psychometric characteristics of the FertiQoL questionnaire in a German sample of infertile individuals and couples.R. E. Sexty0G. Griesinger1J. Kayser2M. Lallinger3S. Rösner4T. Strowitzki5B. Toth6T. Wischmann7Institute of Medical Psychology, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital, Bergheimer Strasse 20Department of Gynaecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital of Schleswig-HolsteinDepartment of Gynaecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital of Schleswig-HolsteinInstitute of Medical Psychology, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital, Bergheimer Strasse 20Department of Gynaecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, Women’s Hospital, University HospitalDepartment of Gynaecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, Women’s Hospital, University HospitalDepartment of Gynaecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, Medical University InnsbruckInstitute of Medical Psychology, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital, Bergheimer Strasse 20Abstract Background FertiQoL is a questionnaire internationally developed to measure fertility-specific quality of life. It has been validated with infertile populations in many countries and used in several studies focusing on the psychosocial consequences of infertility in Europe, Asia, and North America. Methods Over a period of two years, 596 infertile women and men took part in the study conducted at three German fertility clinics. Psychometric properties of FertiQoL were tested by performing confirmatory factor analyses, calculating average variance extracted values, reliability and correlation coefficients. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine the relations between FertiQoL subscales and both sociodemographic and medical variables. Individual and cross-partner effects were tested for. Results The confirmatory factor analyses conducted on our FertiQoL data supported the original four-factor solution for both women and men but, resulted in some unsatisfactory indices. Family and friends’ support items loaded weakly on the Social subscale of FertiQoL (.27 and .34 in women, .32 and .19 in men). The Emotional and Mind/Body subscales revealed a strong intercorrelation (r = .77, p < .001 in women, r = .74, p < .001 in men). Women scored lower than men on the Emotional and Mind/Body subscales only, and they reported better fertility-specific relational QoL. In women, the perceived cause of infertility and already mothering a child related significantly to individual FertiQoL scores, while in men, age, educational level, and the duration of their wish for a child had an impact on the FertiQoL subscales (all p < .05). The men’s educational level, the women’s educational level, and the subjective perceived medical cause of fertility problems exerted cross-partner effects on QoL (all p < .05). Conclusions Our study results represent a contribution both to research and clinical practice. The findings suggest the importance of considering the personal experience of infertility in different cultural and gender specific settings and that the strong connections between the emotional, physical, and cognitive aspects of an individual’s fertility-specific quality of life should be regarded as a more coherent system. Trial registration DRKS: DRKS00014707. Registered 1 May 2018 (retrospectively registered).http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12955-018-1058-9Fertility-specific QoLValidationGerman sampleSociodemographic variablesCross-partner effects |
| spellingShingle | R. E. Sexty G. Griesinger J. Kayser M. Lallinger S. Rösner T. Strowitzki B. Toth T. Wischmann Psychometric characteristics of the FertiQoL questionnaire in a German sample of infertile individuals and couples. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes Fertility-specific QoL Validation German sample Sociodemographic variables Cross-partner effects |
| title | Psychometric characteristics of the FertiQoL questionnaire in a German sample of infertile individuals and couples. |
| title_full | Psychometric characteristics of the FertiQoL questionnaire in a German sample of infertile individuals and couples. |
| title_fullStr | Psychometric characteristics of the FertiQoL questionnaire in a German sample of infertile individuals and couples. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychometric characteristics of the FertiQoL questionnaire in a German sample of infertile individuals and couples. |
| title_short | Psychometric characteristics of the FertiQoL questionnaire in a German sample of infertile individuals and couples. |
| title_sort | psychometric characteristics of the fertiqol questionnaire in a german sample of infertile individuals and couples |
| topic | Fertility-specific QoL Validation German sample Sociodemographic variables Cross-partner effects |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12955-018-1058-9 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT resexty psychometriccharacteristicsofthefertiqolquestionnaireinagermansampleofinfertileindividualsandcouples AT ggriesinger psychometriccharacteristicsofthefertiqolquestionnaireinagermansampleofinfertileindividualsandcouples AT jkayser psychometriccharacteristicsofthefertiqolquestionnaireinagermansampleofinfertileindividualsandcouples AT mlallinger psychometriccharacteristicsofthefertiqolquestionnaireinagermansampleofinfertileindividualsandcouples AT srosner psychometriccharacteristicsofthefertiqolquestionnaireinagermansampleofinfertileindividualsandcouples AT tstrowitzki psychometriccharacteristicsofthefertiqolquestionnaireinagermansampleofinfertileindividualsandcouples AT btoth psychometriccharacteristicsofthefertiqolquestionnaireinagermansampleofinfertileindividualsandcouples AT twischmann psychometriccharacteristicsofthefertiqolquestionnaireinagermansampleofinfertileindividualsandcouples |