摘要:

This article presents the historical and policy background for the articles comprising this volume on psychological perspectives on abortion. President Reagan brought new life to public health concerns about abortion. Although Surgeon General Koop concluded that the scientific evidence was inadequate to say whether abortion did or did not cause psychological harm, debate continues. This article describes this debate and the policy differences between pro‐life and pro‐choice advocates. “Right‐to‐know” (informed consent) legislation is presented as a case study of how policy based on inadequate and flawed research evidence will result in implementati

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00895.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

In studying psychological responses following abortion, one necessarily encompasses responses to the entire experience of becoming pregnant and of terminating the pregnancy. Many assumptions are made about the nature of pregnancies that are terminated, but little research has examined the relationship between characteristics of the pregnancy and responses following abortion. Indirect evidence is available about the association of aspects of pregnancy with responses after abortion. This article considers the definition of different types of pregnancy: unplanned pregnancy, unintended pregnancy, unwanted pregnancy, premarital pregnancy, and adolescent pregnancy. Although these concepts are all related, each implies a different set of dynamics regarding the pregnancy, and each may have different implications for a woman's response following abortion. A full understanding of responses following abortion must take into account all of these variables.

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00896.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The incidence of psychological problems following abortion is hotly debated. This article uses a methodological critique of the key research to argue that prevalence rates for psychological risks following legal abortions in the U.S. should be viewed with great caution. Knowledge of prevalence alone, however, is inadequate for policy decisions. Information is also needed about the risks associated with the policy options intended to replace abortion (relative risk). Studies that used a comparison group have shown that the psychological risks associated with abortion are similar to those associated with childbirth. Furthermore, past research cannot answer whether abortion causes psychological responses that sometimes occur. We conclude that, although the studies cited by pro‐choice advocates are much more methodologically sound than those cited by pro‐life advocates, decisions about what risks are acceptable are largely political decisions rather than scientific o

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00897.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

On the basis of empirical studies previously reported in the research literature, this article develops a theoretical model of the psychological antecedents of abortion and a family of related theoretical models of the long‐term psychological consequences of abortion. Then, using data collected during the mid‐1970s as part of a longitudinal study of 967 women living in the San Francisco Bay Area, these models are tested with multiple regression analysis. The results provide considerable support for the model of psychological antecedents and for several of the models of psychological consequences. The specific findings are discussed and some of their policy implications are descri

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00898.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Elective abortion, the most common surgical procedure in the United States, continues to generate considerable moral, legal, medical, and psychological controversy. This article reviews the pertinent literature, defines and describes postabortion syndrome (PAS) as a type of Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder. Four basic components of PAS are proposed: (a) exposure to or participation in an abortion experience, which is perceived as the traumatic and intentional destruction of one's unborn child; (b) uncontrolled negative reexperiencing of the abortion event; (c) unsuccessful attempts to avoid or deny painful abortion recollections, resulting in reduced responsiveness; and (d) experiencing associated symptoms not present before the abortion, including guilt about surviving. Clinical evidence and the cardinal features of PAS are presented, and objections to the validity of this diagnostic category are discusse

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00899.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Psychosocial factors that may serve as “risk factors” for the experience of short‐term distress following induced abortion are reviewed. Factors found to be predictive of affective distress include blaming the pregnancy on one's character, low preabortion coping expectancies, low levels of perceived social support from important others, and a difficult abortion decision. Social conflict over the abortion decision, the nature of the woman's relationship with her partner, the coping strategies that she employs, her pre‐pregnancy level of psychological functioning, and life events occurring subsequent to the abortion are also suggested as potentially important predictors of adjustment. Coping expectancies are proposed to be the most proximal and important predictor of short‐term postabortion adjustment. Implications for clinical practice and public policy on abortion are

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00900.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

It is estimated that approximately 3% of pregnant adolescents who carry to term will place their infant for adoption. Birth mothers who place for adoption have higher socioeconomic indices and are less influenced by a negative social network than are those who keep the child. As a result of placing an infant, birth mothers may experience an enduring sense of loss. This is exacerbated by the social blocking of open grieving and restricted opportunities to participate, even indirectly, in the life of the child. If adoption is to become a more frequently used pregnancy resolution option, then structural changes in the delivery of counseling and supportive services must be considered.

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00901.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Studied were 220 children born in 1961–1963 to Prague women twice denied abortion for the same pregnancy and 220 pair‐matched controls, whose mothers were also pair‐matched for socioeconomic status and the husband's or partner's presence in the home. All the children were born into intact homes, and they were medically, psychologically, and socially assessed at ages 9, 14–16, and 21–23. Findings show that differences between the two groups of children widened over time, always to the disadvantage of the unwanted children. In the aggregate, unwantedness in early pregnancy has a detrimental effect on children's psychosocial development. In adulthood, marital partners of the unwanted children were similar to their spouses. Families founded by men or women unwanted in early pregnancy were more problem‐prone than families founded by individuals wanted or accepted in early pregnancy. A further follow‐up at age 30 i

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00902.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The implications and effects of restrictive abortion laws depend on the characteristics and motivations of women obtaining abortions. Using secondary analysis of abortion patient data, this article documents substantial diversity in reproductive histories, family responsibilities, resources, and reasons for abortion among minors and adults who differed in marital and parental status. Abortion patients had substantial family responsibilities; nearly half were mothers. Reasons for abortion were related to internal, personal characteristics as well as to external circumstances, but for adult women, external circumstances were particularly salient. Women's abortion decisions reflected a desire to optimize the quality of marriage and childbearing, and to reduce risk of physical, psychological, social, and economic disadvantage for themselves and their existing and future children.

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00903.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Adolescents' rights to abortion have traditionally been restricted more than adults' because of their presumed immaturity. In many states, minors must obtain adult consent for an abortion, but these laws all include a “bypass” stipulation allowing minors to seek consent from a designated third party—usually a judge—if they were denied parental consent or chose not to seek it. Consent and bypass statutes were designed to promote the welfare of minors, but lack of clarity in the standards for judging maturity has made it difficult for these laws to function as intended. Data indicate that courts cannot discriminate mature from immature minors, and that minors are put at greater risk by delaying the abortion in order to obtain third‐party consent. Unless an alternative to or modification of bypass legislation is adopted, the best interests of minors may continue to be jeopardized by arbitrary application of the “mature mino

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00904.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY