On the self-regulation of a health threat: Cognitions, coping, and emotions among women undergoing treatment for infertility

The Self-regulation Model (SRM) proposed by Leventhal and colleagues (H. Leventhal, Meyer, & Nerenz, 1980) argues that cognitive representations of a health threat guide coping with the threat, which in turn affects physical and emotional outcomes. The current study tested these hypothesized relationships between cognitive perceptions of infertility, ways of coping with infertility and its treatment, and emotional outcomes, in a sample of 310 women undergoing treatment for infertility. The data provided evidence for direct and indirect relationships between cognitions and emotions and underscored the importance of examining illness cognitions and attending to both positive and negative emotions in research and therapy.