the role of alexithymia and sexual self-esteem in the prediction of marital stress and adjustment in infertile women

Objective: considering the negative impact of infertility on the level of adjustment and stress in women, the present study aimed to examine the role of sexual self-esteem and alexithymia in predicting marital stress and adjustment of infertile women. methods: this research was a cross-sectional study. the study population consisted of all infertile women in shiraz city, iran (n=70000). a total of 400 women were selected through a non-random and purposeful sampling method, but the final sample consisted of 380 subjects. the study tools were a short form of sexual self-esteem scale for women, locke-wallace marital adjustment questionnaire, stockholm-tehran marital stress scale, and toronto alexithymia scale. the obtained data were analyzed by the pearson correlation and multivariate regression in the spss v. 26. results: the results showed a significant negative relationship between sexual self-esteem and marital stress as well as alexithymia and marital adjustment (p<0.01). besides, the positive relationships between sexual self-esteem and marital adjustment and alexithymia and marital stress were significant (p<0.01). the results of multiple regression analysis demonstrated that alexithymia and sexual self-esteem could significantly predict marital stress and marital adjustment with the standard coefficient of 0.44 and 0.22, respectively. conclusion: alexithymia and sexual self-esteem play essential roles in predicting adjustment and stress levels of infertile women, respectively. accordingly, difficulty in emotional awareness at first, and then the low level of self-esteem in sexual function can decrease adjustment and increase stress in marital relationships.