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Cited by 72Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumReproductive Health and Technologies

Gender comparison of psychological reaction after miscarriage—a 1‐year longitudinal study

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Kong, GWS, Chung, TKH, Lai, BPY, Lok, IH·2010·BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
DOI 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02653.x
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Abstract

Please cite this paper as: Kong G, Chung T, Lai B, Lok I. Gender comparison of psychological reaction after miscarriage—a 1‐year longitudinal study. BJOG 2010;117:1211–1219. Objective To explore men’s psychological reaction and its evolutionary course over 1 year after miscarriage, to compare this reaction with that of their female partners and to investigate the possible correlation of psychological states between partners. Design Prospective 1‐year longitudinal observational study. Setting A university‐affiliated tertiary referral hospital in Hong Kong. Sample Eighty‐three miscarrying couples. Methods The psychological reactions of miscarrying women and their male partners were assessed immediately and at 3, 6 and 12 months after miscarriage. Main outcome measures Psychological outcomes were assessed using the 12‐item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results A substantial proportion of men (43.4%) scored high in GHQ‐12 and 16.9% scored high in BDI immediately after miscarriage. In men, both psychometric scores decreased sharply within the first 3 months and reached a plateau. When compared with women, men scored significantly lower in GHQ‐12 and BDI during the 1‐year course after miscarriage. A planned pregnancy was a significant risk factor (P = 0.008) associated with an initial high BDI score in men. There was a significant positive correlation between couples in both GHQ‐12 and BDI scores throughout the longitudinal course. Conclusions Although the psychological impact of miscarriage on men was less enduring when compared with that on women, a significant proportion of men demonstrated psychological distress after miscarriage. The significant positive correlation in a couple’s psychological reaction indicated that psychological morbidity was not confined only to a woman’s own experience, but also affected her relationship with her male partner.

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  • Whether or not a pregnancy was planned or welcomed was a key indicator of levels of psychological distress in men.

    “whether or not a pregnancy was planned or welcomed was found to be a key indicator of levels of psychological distress [26].”

    From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [26]

    The Results report that a planned pregnancy was a significant risk factor for an initially high depression score in men after miscarriage. The paper does not establish whether a pregnancy was welcomed as a separate indicator, and it found no significant risk factor for men’s initial general psychological-distress score. The claim therefore extends a specific depression finding to psychological distress more broadly. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Men tended to have less intense and less enduring levels of grief, depression, stress and anxiety than women after pregnancy loss.

    “they tended to have less intense and less enduring levels of these psychological outcomes than did women [7, 23–30].”

    From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [26]

    The Conclusions (page unavailable) say men were less distressed and less depressed than their female partners, and that the psychological impact of miscarriage was less intense and enduring. The Instruments section shows that this study measured general psychological distress and depression, not grief, stress, and anxiety as separate outcomes; the claim extends its finding to those outcomes. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Men reported many of the same feelings of grief, depression, stress and anxiety as women after pregnancy loss.

    “while men reported many of the same feelings of grief, depression, stress and anxiety as women”

    From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [26]

    The Conclusions (page unavailable) report that men experienced psychological distress and depression after miscarriage, though less intensely than women. The Introduction discusses studies reporting grief and anxiety in male partners. This study measured general distress and depression, not stress, grief and anxiety as separate outcomes, so the full list of feelings is not supported by its own findings. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Quantitative and mixed methods studies indicated that men tended to have less intense and less enduring levels of negative psychological outcomes than women after pregnancy loss.

    “Quantitative and mixed methods studies indicated that while men tended to have less intense and less enduring levels of negative psychological outcomes than women”

    From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [26]

  • Gestational age at time of loss was not related to the health or wellbeing outcomes of men.

    “gestational age at time of loss was not related to the health or wellbeing outcomes of men [26, 28, 29, 31, 32].”

    From The impact of pregnancy loss on men’s health and wellbeing: a systematic review (2017) · cites this paper as [26]

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Cites

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1 of the 40 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. [1]1. Lok IH, Neugebauer R. Psychological morbidity following miscar- riage. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 2007;21:229-47.
  2. [7]7. Neugebauer R, Kline J, O'Connor P, Shrout P, Johnson J, Skodol A, et al. Depressive symptoms in women in the 6 months after miscar- riage. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1992;166:104-9.
  3. [11]11. Miller WH. The male perspective. In: Stewart DE, Stotland NL, editors. Psychological Aspects of Women's Health Care: the Interface between Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Press Inc, 1993,375-89.
  4. [12]12. Cummings DD. The effects of miscarriage on a man. Emotional First Aid 1984;1:47-50.
  5. [24]24. Shek DTL. Reliability and factorial structure of the Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory. J Clin Psychol 1990;46:35-43.

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Authors
Kong, G., Chung, T., Lai, B., & Lok, I.
Affiliations
Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
Venue
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2010-08-16
Volume
117
Issue
10
Pages
1211-1219
ISSN
  • 0306-5456 (ISSN-L)
  • 1470-0328
  • 1471-0528
DOI
10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02653.x
OpenAlex
W1541072006
Cited by
72
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
FWCI
1.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Rare & Special e-Zone (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Reproductive Health and Technologies
Keywords
miscarriage, male partners, psychological distress, depression, gender differences, couples, planned pregnancy, longitudinal course, marital relationships, General Health Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory
MeSH terms
Abortion, Spontaneous, Adult, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Maternal Age, Pregnancy, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Stress, Psychological, Spouses

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