Effect of Self-Compassion Intervention Based on a Religious Perspective on the Anxiety and Quality of Life of Infertile Women: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract Background Anxiety is one of the common psychological problems among infertile women, which affects their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of self-compassion intervention based on religious perspective on the anxiety and quality of life of infertile women. Methods A qusai-experimental design with experimental and control groups was used. 24 women who lived in Maybod city, Iran, and were referred to Yazd reproductive sciences institute selected by available sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The participants of experimental group received 8 sessions self-compassion focused intervention based on religious instructions and control group was put on the waiting list. Data were collected using Quality of Life Questionnaire in Infertile Couples Questionnaire (QOLICQ) and Beck anxiety inventory (BDI) in pretest and posttest phase and then analyzed using multivariate analysis covariance (MANCOVA). Results The results showed as compared to control group at the post-test phase, the quality of life (p< .001) and anxiety (p< .001) of infertile women increased and decreased, respectively, in the experimental group. Conclusion Infertility medical centers can use self-compassion intervention based on a religious approach as a complementary psychological intervention, alongside with medical interventions, to improve the quality of life and reduce anxiety in infertile women.