{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T06:56:38Z","timestamp":1790751398643,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790726400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Infertility treatment is a prolonged medical and psychosocial stressor, and infertility self-efficacy reflects individuals\u2019 perceived capacity to cope with treatment demands. Research has rarely examined how personal and work\u2013nonwork resources are jointly associated with infertility-specific coping beliefs within couples. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory, this study examined personal optimism (PO), perceived work\u2013life balance (WLB), and infertility self-efficacy (ISE) among women undergoing\n                      <jats:italic>in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                      fertilization (IVF) and their male partners, including an indirect association from PO to ISE through WLB and its possible difference between partners.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The analysis included 44 employed heterosexual couples (\n                      <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f88) undergoing IVF. Both partners independently completed measures of PO, WLB, and ISE. Partner-specific indirect-effect models were estimated separately for women and men, adjusting for the other partner\u2019s corresponding scores. Between-partner contrasts in the PO\u2013WLB and indirect associations were tested in a simultaneous distinguishable-dyad path model using couple-level bootstrap resampling. Given the cross-sectional design, indirect effects were interpreted as statistical associations rather than evidence of causal mediation.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Among women, PO and WLB were each positively associated with ISE. However, PO was not significantly associated with WLB, and the indirect association between PO and ISE through WLB was not statistically significant. Among men, PO was positively associated with WLB, and both PO and WLB were positively associated with ISE. In addition, a significant positive indirect association between PO and ISE through WLB was observed among men. A direct dyadic contrast showed a stronger PO\u2013WLB association among men than among women, although the confidence interval narrowly excluded zero. However, the direct comparison of the partner-specific indirect associations did not indicate a statistically significant difference between women and men.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>PO and WLB were independently associated with ISE in both partners. Among men, but not women, a significant indirect association between PO and ISE through WLB was observed, although the direct comparison of the partner-specific indirect associations was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that psychosocial care during IVF may benefit from attention to ISE, PO, and WLB. Longitudinal and intervention research is needed before clinical recommendations can be drawn.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1819261","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T06:06:03Z","timestamp":1790748363000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Optimism and work\u2013life balance in relation to infertility self-efficacy in IVF couples: a dyadic approach"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Keren","family":"Turgeman-Lupo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Management & Economics, The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo","place":["Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ya\u2019arit","family":"Bokek-Cohen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Behavioral Sciences, Netanya Academic College","place":["Netanya, Israel"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amir","family":"Wiser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Meir Medical Center","place":["Kfar Saba, Israel"]},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University","place":["Tel Aviv, Israel"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Einat","family":"Haikin Herzberger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Meir Medical Center","place":["Kfar Saba, Israel"]},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University","place":["Tel Aviv, Israel"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Netanella","family":"Miller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Meir Medical Center","place":["Kfar Saba, Israel"]},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University","place":["Tel Aviv, Israel"]},{"name":"OB\/GYN Department, Maayanei Hayeshua Medical Center","place":["Bnei Brak, Israel"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"209","DOI":"10.1007\/s12529-021-10001-5","article-title":"Persevering in fertility treatments despite failures: unrealistic optimism and the reality of a pronatalist culture","volume":"29","author":"Abramov","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. 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