Abstract: Talk about It: Examining the Relationship between Disclosing about Infertility and Social Support

◆ Kelsey Binion, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis

Infertility has been conceptualized as a “crisis” due to the complex physical, financial, social, and psychological stressors that a woman may experience. Because of the emphasis on motherhood in American culture and gendered expectations, infertile women fall in the “outsider” category and are commonly faced with unwanted questions about pregnancy. Thus, many women choose to keep their infertility diagnosis a secret. Not adhering to the norm can deeply discredit and devalue the individual; hence, the silence. Further, concealing a health concern can contribute to psychological and physical stress. Social interactions play a role in shaping how a person reveals or conceals private information, which has implications on an individual’s relationships and social support. This study used a quantitative approach to examine the relationship between social support and disclosure. Seventy women completed an online questionnaire that included two validated scales: the Disclosure Questionnaire (Slade et al., 2007) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988). Three hypotheses were proposed: H1: Higher levels of disclosure will report higher perceived social support; H2: Women feel relieved, understood, and supported if they have higher levels of disclosure; H3: Women have higher levels of disclosure with friends than their family and significant others. Results of an ANOVA provide evidence that women with higher levels of disclosure have a significant effect on social support (F(2, 70)=6.32, p=.003, eta2=.16). Thus, H1 was supported. H2 was partially supported, because the factorial ANOVA suggested that higher levels of disclosure do report that women feel more relieved (F(2, 70)=4.74, p=.012, eta2=.119) and understood (F(2, 70)=4.746 p=.015, eta2=.126) but not supported (F(2, 70)=1.58, p=2.15). H3 was not supported as 100% of participants told their partners, followed by 88.6% to their close friends, and 78.6% to their mothers. Interestingly, participants were likely to disclose to online support groups (72.6%) at a slightly lower frequency than mothers (78.6%) but higher than fathers (60.0%). A statistically significant difference between low, moderate, and high frequency of disclosure affected women’s perception of social support. Further, it affected the way that they felt once they disclosed. One surprising finding of this study was that women did not feel supported when they disclosed, but they felt relieved and understood. Previous research shows that women often receive less support than expected; thus, this could explain why 72.6% disclosed to online support groups. A significant finding that this study discovered is the prevalence of friendships. Almost 90% of participants disclosed their infertility struggles with a close friend, which illustrates the importance of friends in a woman’s illness journey. This percentage is higher than any immediate family member. Future research should investigate friendships within the infertility context to uncover what disclosure strategies women use with their friends, and what information is shared.