Objective:To explore the relationship among depression, social belonging and fertility quality of life of infertile women, and to provide a theoretical basis for the development of effective measures to improve the quality of life of infertile women.Methods:From July 2022 to October 2022, a random sample of 400 patients treated for infertility in the Reproductive Assisting Centre of the First Hospital of Anhui Medical University were selected using a general basic questionnaire, the Depression Screening Self-Rating Scale (PHQ-9), the Social Attribution Measurement Questionnaire and the Fertility Quality of Life Scale quality of life questionnaire (FertiQoL) were administered. Spearman correlation was used to analyze the association between the variables, and mediating effects were examined by Bootstrap procedure and PROCESS software.Results:The 400 infertile women had a median depression score of 5, reaching a subclinical mild level of depression, a median score of 12 on the social belonging measure, and a median score of 62.87 on the FertiQoL. Social belonging was negatively correlated with depression ( r=-0.206, P<0.001); social belonging was positively correlated with FertiQoL ( r=0.267, P<0.001); and depression was negatively correlated with FertiQoL ( r=-0.428, P<0.001). Mediation analysis showed that after controlling for relevant variables, the indirect effect of depression on FertiQoL in infertile women was -0.069 0 (95% CI: -0.173 3--0.008 3), and the direct effect was -1.019 1 (95% CI: -1.436 3- -0.601 8), the mediating effect of FertiQoL through social belonging on depression in infertile women accounted for 6.34% of the total effect. Conclusion:Social belonging plays a partial mediating role in depression and FertiQoL among infertile women. Infertile women should be given timely attention to their psychological situation and given more social recognition and support to improve their FertiQoL.

Objective:To explore the relationship among depression, social belonging and fertility quality of life of infertile women, and to provide a theoretical basis for the development of effective measures to improve the quality of life of infertile women.Methods:From July 2022 to October 2022, a random sample of 400 patients treated for infertility in the Reproductive Assisting Centre of the First Hospital of Anhui Medical University were selected using a general basic questionnaire, the Depression Screening Self-Rating Scale (PHQ-9), the Social Attribution Measurement Questionnaire and the Fertility Quality of Life Scale quality of life questionnaire (FertiQoL) were administered. Spearman correlation was used to analyze the association between the variables, and mediating effects were examined by Bootstrap procedure and PROCESS software.Results:The 400 infertile women had a median depression score of 5, reaching a subclinical mild level of depression, a median score of 12 on the social belonging measure, and a median score of 62.87 on the FertiQoL. Social belonging was negatively correlated with depression ( r=-0.206, P<0.001); social belonging was positively correlated with FertiQoL ( r=0.267, P<0.001); and depression was negatively correlated with FertiQoL ( r=-0.428, P<0.001). Mediation analysis showed that after controlling for relevant variables, the indirect effect of depression on FertiQoL in infertile women was -0.069 0 (95% CI: -0.173 3--0.008 3), and the direct effect was -1.019 1 (95% CI: -1.436 3- -0.601 8), the mediating effect of FertiQoL through social belonging on depression in infertile women accounted for 6.34% of the total effect. Conclusion:Social belonging plays a partial mediating role in depression and FertiQoL among infertile women. Infertile women should be given timely attention to their psychological situation and given more social recognition and support to improve their FertiQoL.