• Prevalence of Social Phobia in Infertile Couples in Zanjan City
  • Hafez Safari,1,*
    1. Education and Training Administration of Kermanshah Province


  • Introduction: Couples who have been infertile for a long time may be questioned about their infertility status by relatives, friends and acquaintances. This issue may be uncomfortable for many infertile couples and may lead to social phobia. Social phobia is a severe fear of being in social situations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of social phobia in infertile couples in Zanjan city.
  • Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that was conducted in Zanjan city in the second half of 2023. During this study, 196 infertile couples referring to obstetrics and gynecology centers in Zanjan city were examined by interview and social phobia inventory (SPIN). Descriptive statistical analysis methods as well as chi-square tests and Cramer's V correlation coefficient were used and the data were analyzed by SPSS 21 software (p<0.05).
  • Results: 25.88% of the couples met the diagnostic criteria of social phobia and were suffering from this disorder. These couples have stated that they have felt embarrassed, ashamed and anxious in interacting with relatives, friends and acquaintances in many cases and have avoided attending social situations in many cases.
  • Conclusion: The results showed that the prevalence of social phobia in infertile couples is very high. It is suggested that considering the consequences of social phobia for physical, mental health and individual and social activities, the awareness of society members about how to deal with infertile couples should be increased in different ways and the mental health of infertile couples should be given more attention.
  • Keywords: Infertility, Mental Disorders, Mental Health, Phobia, Social Phobia