title: The Role of Religious Coping Strategies in Predicting Depression among a Sample of Women with Fertility Problems in Shiraz.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One of the most common mental health problems among women with infertility problems is depression. Research has shown that religious beliefs and practices can help people to cope with difficult situations. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of different religious coping strategies in predicting depression in a group of infertile women in Shiraz.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 72 women with fertility problems were recruited from several private infertility clinics in Shiraz using convenience sampling. The participants completed the research questionnaires including Beck Depression Inventory and Religious Coping Scale. The Religious Coping Scale consists of five dimensions including practice, active, passive, benevolent reappraisal and negative religious coping. Descriptive statistics (frequency percentage, mean and standard deviation), Pearson's correlation and simultaneous multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis using SPSS version 16. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The present study showed that about 30% of women with fertility problems experienced the symptoms of depression. The findings also indicated that the most commonly used religious coping strategy was practice religious coping, while the least commonly used religious coping strategies were passive and negative religious coping. The findings also showed that active religious coping, practice religious coping and benevolent reappraisal coping predicted depression reduction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the effect of religious coping on depression reduction of women with fertility problems. In other words, women who used religious coping strategies were less likely to experience depression symptoms.
authors.affiliation: - Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Education and Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Abdulaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aflakseir
authors.affiliation: - Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Education and Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mansoureh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahdiyar
keywords: Coping behavior; Depression; Infertility; Religious beliefs; Women