Journal of Reproduction & Infertility

Journal of Reproduction & Infertility

Stigma and infertility in Iran - coping skills

Author
Clinical Psychology Department, Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
About fourty years ago Goffman (1963) in his book pointed at stigmatizing as distressing condition which harm some people in their life. He described stigma as bodily signs designed to expose something unusual and bad about the moral status of signifier. This term is used more to mean disgrace than any bodily feature, it can include the wide range of characteristics which make a person odd or seen deviant. Men or women with infertility face stigma because of unability to have their own children. In this article some factors which involve to make stigmatized situations for infertile persons have been described. Clinical observations shows that cognitive distortions has eminent effect in creating stigmatized situation for infertility. The role of cognitive modification in decreasing stigma for these persons are explained. A single case who suffered from stigmatized situation is described here and some CBT techniques for her treatment have been introduced. Some methods for stopping social pressure on infertile people suggested.
Keywords

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