Perceived Infertility and Risk of Dissolution among German Couples over 13 years

• In Event: 30458 - Reproductive Beliefs and Fertility Intentions

Abstract

This study explored whether perceiving infertility is related to whether sharing infertility perceptions is related to relationship dissolution, and whether the gender of the perceiver matters. Exposure to stressors often lead to partnership dissolution but couples who define a problem as shared may be at less risk than others. No previous studies have used longitudinal data on both partners in a couple to determine whether perceptions of infertility are related to partnership dissolution. 2,444 couples were analyzed over 13 waves of the German pairfam survey. Couples were classified into four categories based on whether neither partner, only the woman, only the man, or both partners perceived infertility. Three different modelling approaches were used ( a Cox proportional hazards model and two different discrete event history models) based on three different plausible assumptions about the relationship between perceived infertility and partnership dissolution. Based on the Cox proportional hazards approach, it appeared that couples where only the man perceived infertility were at greater risk for dissolution than the other three groups. Using the discrete event history approaches, none of the four groups were significantly different. Perceiving infertility does not necessarily weaken relationships even when only one partner in a couple perceives a problem. This study informs understandings of the experience of infertility, partnership dissolution, and dyadic coping. 

Authors

• Arthur L. Greil, Alfred University

• Desmond D Wallace, Alfred Univerity

• Julia McQuillan, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Jasmin Passet-Wittig, Federal Institute for Population Research, Wiesbaden, Germany

• Michele Lowry, Alfred University

• Kathleen S. Slauson-Blevins, Old Dominion University

• Martin Bujard, Federal Institute for Population Research, Wiesbaden, Germany