Causal explanations for lack of pregnancy applying the common sense model of illness representation to the fertility context
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
OBJECTIVES: The current study explored causal explanations for lack of pregnancy and association with help-seeking behaviour. Differences based on gender and country Human Development Index were examined.
DESIGN: A mixed method design was used.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Data were drawn from the International Fertility Decision-Making Study, a cross-sectional study of 10,045 individuals (1690 men; 8355 women) from 79 countries. Respondents rated to what extent they believed their lack of pregnancy was due to something they or their partner had done/not done or other factors and described their reasons for making this rating.
RESULTS: Respondents were aged 18-50 (M = 31.83) years, partnered and had been trying to achieve a pregnancy/father a child for over six months (M = 2.8 years). Men and women primarily believed their lack of pregnancy was due to medical problems or chance/bad luck. Thematic analysis of textual responses from 29.7% of the sample found that respondents focused on their personal experience or a salient life event when describing the cause of their lack of pregnancy. Women expressed more regret and helplessness about causes than men. Significant country differences were observed.
CONCLUSIONS: Individuals may develop inaccurate causal explanations based on their personal experiences. Access to accurate information is necessary to facilitate timely help-seeking.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Psychology & health |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 10 |
Pages (from-to) | 1284-1301 |
Number of pages | 18 |
ISSN | 0887-0446 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Externally published | Yes |
- Adolescent, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Fertility, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Models, Psychological, Pregnancy, Young Adult
Research areas
ID: 242207656