Table 2. Psychosocial Burden Associated With Family Building Among Study Participants.
| Characteristic | Overall, No. (%)a | Age group, No. (%)a | χ2 (df) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age ≤31 y | Age 32 to 36 y | Age ≥37 y | ||||
| Have you delayed childbearing due to training? (n = 3303)a | ||||||
| Yes | 1985 (60.1) | 680 (53.8) | 506 (66.9) | 799 (62.2) | 37.951 (2) | <.001 |
| No | 1320 (39.9) | 584 (46.2) | 250 (33.1) | 486 (37.8) | ||
| Do you regret delaying childbearing due to training? (n = 1985)a,b | ||||||
| Not at all | 451 (22.7) | 172 (25.4) | 96 (19.0) | 183 (22.8) | 68.802 (8) | <.001 |
| A little bit | 424 (21.4) | 178 (26.3) | 85 (16.8) | 161 (20.1) | ||
| Somewhat | 491 (24.7) | 178 (26.3) | 135 (26.7) | 178 (22.2) | ||
| Moderately so | 394 (19.8) | 112 (16.5) | 130 (25.7) | 152 (19.0) | ||
| Extremely so | 225 (11.3) | 38 (5.6) | 60 (11.9) | 127 (15.9) | ||
| Have you or a partner sought therapy to cope with the stress of family building? (n = 2716)a,c,d | ||||||
| Yes | 393 (14.5) | 82 (8.9) | 110 (16.2) | 201 (18.0) | 35.713 (2) | <.001 |
| No | 2323 (85.5) | 837 (91.1) | 571 (83.8) | 915 (82.0) | ||
| Do you currently or have you in the past met the criteria to be diagnosed with infertility? (n = 3310)a,e | ||||||
| Yes | 698 (21.1) | 55 (4.3) | 187 (24.7) | 456 (35.4) | 411.284 (4) | <.001 |
| No | 2248 (67.9) | 994 (78.5) | 507 (67.1) | 747 (58.0) | ||
| Not applicable | 364 (11.0) | 218 (17.2) | 62 (8.2) | 84 (6.5) | ||
| Have you used assisted reproductive technology? (n = 3063)a | ||||||
| Yes | 589 (19.2) | 40 (3.5) | 149 (21.0) | 400 (33.4) | 340.904 (2) | <.001 |
| No | 2474 (80.8) | 1115 (96.5) | 561 (79.0) | 798 (66.6) | ||
| To what degree have fertility issues affected your well-being? (n = 3238)a | ||||||
| Not at all | 1858 (57.4) | 894 (73.3) | 357 (47.9) | 607 (47.6) | 265.290 (8) | <.001 |
| Slightly | 477 (14.7) | 170 (13.9) | 129 (17.3) | 178 (14.0) | ||
| Somewhat | 332 (10.3) | 75 (6.2) | 94 (12.6) | 163 (12.8) | ||
| Moderately so | 304 (9.4) | 46 (3.8) | 94 (12.6) | 164 (12.9) | ||
| Extremely so | 267 (8.2) | 34 (2.8) | 71 (9.5) | 162 (12.7) | ||
| To what degree have fertility issues negatively affected your relationship with your partner? (n = 2697)a,c | ||||||
| Not at all | 1826 (67.7) | 715 (79.4) | 432 (63.7) | 679 (60.7) | 118.688 (8) | <.001 |
| Slightly | 490 (18.2) | 125 (13.9) | 153 (22.6) | 212 (19.0) | ||
| Somewhat | 232 (8.6) | 43 (4.8) | 62 (9.1) | 127 (11.4) | ||
| Moderately so | 116 (4.3) | 14 (1.6) | 28 (4.1) | 74 (6.6) | ||
| Extremely so | 33 (1.2) | <5 (<0.9) | <5 (<0.9) | 26 (2.3) | ||
Total numbers may vary due to item nonresponse. Only participants who reported their age were included.
Only asked of participants who delayed childbearing.
Only asked of participants who were partnered.
Of the 393 participants who have sought therapy to cope with the stress of family building, 6 did not indicate whether they had used assisted reproductive technology.
A diagnosis of infertility was defined as not getting pregnant under age 35 after a year of trying or over age 35 after 6 months of trying. A total of 380 participants replied “not applicable” to this question; these individuals had not tried to conceive (n = 270), did not want biological children (n = 73), are men who only partner with men (n = 60), or are women who only partner with women (n = 21).