Developing Structural Equations for Marital Relationship Distress Based on Facial Emotion Recognition: The Mediating Role of Relational Aggression in Infertile Women

Infertility is one of the most common problems in the world that can expose affected people to various psychological disorders. Therefore, the present study was performed to develop structural equations for marital relationship distress based on facial emotion recognition: the mediating role of relational aggression in infertile women.

The research method was descriptive and structural equations. The statistical population of the study included all infertile women who were referred to infertility centers and obstetrics and gynecology medical centers in Tehran in the summer of 2021. 300 subjects were selected via a convenient sampling method and participated in the research through online questionnaires. Data were collected using the Marital Self-Report Questionnaire of Taxon Wisman et al. (2009), the Facial Emotion Recognition Test of Ekman and Friesen (1976), and the Covert Relational Aggression Questionnaire of Nelson-Carroll (2006). Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling.

The results showed that the causal model of the relationship between facial emotion recognition, relational aggression, and marital relationship distress in infertile women was confirmed based on different fit indices. Facial emotion recognition and relational aggression have a direct effect on marital distress. Moreover, facial emotion recognition through relational aggression has an indirect effect on marital distress in infertile women.

Facial emotion recognition and relational aggression play an important role in marital distress in infertile women, and targeting these two components in psychological therapies can be effective in reducing marital distress.