Fertility-Preservation Knowledge, Perceived Barriers, and Tokophobia Among Female Oncology Patients: The Moderating Role of Psychological Capital

Background: Tokophobia, or fear of childbirth, is a significant psychological concern for female oncology patients, particularly those considering fertility preservation therapies. Aim: This study investigates the relationships between perceived barriers, knowledge of fertility preservation therapies, psychological capital, and tokophobia and explores the moderating role of psychological capital in these relationships. Methods: Cross-sectional quantitative research was conducted among 312 female oncology patients. Data were collected using validated scales to measure barriers, knowledge, psychological capital, and tokophobia. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and moderation analysis using the PROCESS macro for SPSS examined the role of psychological capital in moderating the relationship between knowledge and tokophobia. Results: The study revealed that female oncology patients perceived multiple barriers to fertility preservation, with the total barriers score averaging 75.11-±-18.1. Subscale means were personal (20.04-±-4.3), medical (21.56-±-5.8), relational (13.61-±-4.1), and financial barriers (19.89-±-5.5). These barriers were negatively associated with total psychological capital (PsyCap) (r-=-–.124, p-<-.05), particularly resilience (r-=-–.163, p-<-.01) and optimism (r-=-–.096, p-<-.05). Knowledge of fertility preservation (mean-=-18.28-±-4.2) was positively associated with PsyCap (r-=-.262, p-<-.01). Moderation analysis showed that PsyCap significantly moderated the relationship between knowledge and tokophobia (β-=-–0.034, p-=-.001). Conclusion: This study highlights the complex interplay between knowledge, psychological capital, and tokophobia among female oncology patients. While knowledge of fertility preservation therapies can heighten tokophobia in patients with low psychological capital, it may reduce tokophobia in those with high psychological capital.