Psychological and social aspects of male infertility in a male dominated society

Three groups of Iranian men (male cause, female cause, and control) were given the translated versions of Beck's Depression and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventories, together with questionnaires on social interaction and attitudes towards having children. The inventories and questionnaires were administered at a pre-diagnosis stage and six months (follow-up) into their medical treatment. Also, the spouses of the above men completed a questionnaire on their partner's dominance in the household at both the above stages. The results showed significant anxiety for the two clinical groups at both the initial and follow-up stages. The depression scores tended to increase significantly for the male infertile group at the follow-up stage. There was also a clear lack of social interest and loss of control at the household level for the latter group. The implications of these findings are discussed.