Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the level of existential vacuum and its relationship to cognitive distortions among infertile women according to (age, years of mirage, (IVF trial) variables. Methods: To achieve this aim the existential vacuum scale (Obied, 2017) and cognitive distortion scale (Roberts, 2015) used by (Al-jarrah & Al-Momani, 2020) were used. The sample of the study consisted of (256) infertile women from many hospitals and specialized centres in Irbid City in Jordan. Results: The findings of the study showed that the level of existential vacuum and cognitive distortions was at an average level according to (IVF trials). Further, there were no significant statistical differences in the level of existential vacuum attributed to (IVF trials). Meanwhile, there were significant statistical differences in the level of cognitive distortions domains (of reading future and dichotomous thinking and reducing) attributed to the IVF trials while there were no differences in the rest of the domains. Furthermore, there was a significant positive relationship between the level of existential therapy and cognitive distortions. Conclusions: The results of the study indicated that catastrophic thinking, overgeneralization, and focusing on negative aspects are among the most prominent cognitive distortions associated with existential emptiness. These distortions negatively affect women's well-being and self-esteem, exacerbating their psychological suffering. The study also emphasized the role of social and cultural factors in reinforcing this existential emptiness, especially the societal pressures on women to conceive and the accompanying social stigma. These factors contribute to the aggravation of cognitive distortions among infertile women.