Infertile individuals' marital relationship status, happiness, and mental health: a causal model.
BACKGROUND
This study examined the causal model of relation between marital relation- ship status, happiness, and mental health in infertile individuals.


METHODS
In this descriptive study, 155 subjects (men: 52 and women: 78), who had been visited in one of the infertility Centers, voluntarily participated in a self-evaluation. Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital Status, Oxford Happiness Ques- tionnaire, and General Health Questionnaire were used as instruments of the study. Data was analyzed by SPSS17 and Amos 5 software using descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, and path analysis.


RESULTS
Disregarding the gender factor, marital relationship status was directly related to happiness (p<0.05) and happiness was directly related to mental health, (p<0.05). Also, indirect relation between marital relationship status and mental health was significant (p<0.05). These results were confirmed in women participants but in men participants only the direct relation between happiness and mental health was significant (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Based on goodness of model fit in fitness indexes, happiness had a mediator role in relation between marital relationship status and mental health in infertile individu- als disregarding the gender factor. Also, considering the gender factor, only in infertile women, marital relationship status can directly and indirectly affect happiness and mental health.
Department of Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
Seyed Habiballah
SH
Ahmadi Forooshany
Department of Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
Fariba
F
Yazdkhasti
Department of Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
Saiede
S
Safari Hajataghaie
Department of Reproductive Biotechnology at Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Biotechnology, ACECR, Isfahan, Iran ; Isfahan Fertility and Infertility Center, Isfahan, Iran.
Mohammad Hossein
MH
Nasr Esfahani
Happiness; Infertility; Marital Relationship; Mental Health