Explaining the Structural Relationships of Quality of Life Based on Emotional and Marital Adjustment Mediated by Coping Strategies in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

 Polycystic ovary syndrome has reduced the quality of life due to many physical and psychological complications. The aim of this study was to explain the structural relationships between quality of life based on emotional and marital adjustment mediated by coping strategies in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

 This study was correlation using structural equation modelling. The statistical population included all married women aged 20 to 50 years with polycystic ovary syndrome referred to hospitals of all Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2020. Among the hospitals with gynaecology clinics, Bu-Ali and Arash were selected by simple random sampling method. A total of 300 women with polycystic ovary syndrome were included in the study by available sampling method. Emotional adjustment, marital adjustment, coping strategies and quality of life questionnaires were used to collect data.  Data were analysed using Pearson correlation, structural equation modelling, PLS, and SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 22.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill., USA). The significance level of the tests was considered 0.05.

 By increasing the mean (SD) of emotional adjustment 94.1 (1.2) and marital adjustment 103.1 (1.2), quality of life increased to 77.7 (0.73) (P<0.01). Also, by increasing the mean (SD) of problem-oriented strategy 48.7(8.5), quality of life increased, and increasing the emotion-oriented strategy decreased the quality of life 53.1 (9.6) (P<0.01). Problem-oriented coping strategy (β=0.28) and emotion-oriented (β=-0.24) played a mediating role in the relationship between emotional adjustment and quality of life. In this way, with increasing the amount of problem-oriented coping strategy, and decreasing the amount of emotion-oriented coping strategy, the quality of life score increased. Problem-oriented coping strategies (β = 0.32) and emotion-oriented strategies (β = -0.30) had a mediating role in the relationship between marital adjustment and quality of life, as the problem-oriented coping strategy increased, and Decreased emotion-oriented coping strategy, quality of life score increased.

 The study showed that both emotional and marital adjustment improved the quality of life in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Problem-oriented strategy was also associated with improved quality of life, but emotion-focused strategy worsened the quality of life. In addition, problem-oriented and emotion-oriented coping strategies played a mediating role in the relationship between emotional adjustment and marital adjustment with quality of life. That is, with the increase of the problem-oriented strategy, the quality of life improved and with the increase of the emotion-oriented strategy, the quality of life worsened.