Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1991

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Health Promotion and Health Education

Major Professor

James J. Neutens

Committee Members

Charles Hamilton, Gene Hayes, William Poppen

Abstract

This study addresses the question of whether there are changes during a relatively short time horizon in the self-perceptions of women who have chosen to have abortions. Subjects consisted of 41 women who had a pregnancy terminated at a medical clinic in a southeastern state. The Adjective Generation Technique (AGT) was administered to each subject on three occasions: prior to pregnancy termination, following termination, and at a follow-up visit in the clinic two to three weeks later. The AGT explored subjects' perceptions about themselves, abortion, intercourse, contraception, and their beliefs about their sexual partners' perceptions of same. Anxiety and favorability scores for each area, as well as scores for femininity relative to self and partner beliefs, were generated. All scores were evaluated using the Kruskall-Wallace statistic. Results of the study indicated a significant increase in patient favorability occurring over the course of the study; a significant decrease in patient anxiety occurring over the course of the study; a significant decrease in anxiety about the abortion itself occurring over the course of the study; and a significant decrease in the patients' favorability toward intercourse occurring over the course of the study. The decrease in anxiety and in intercourse-favorability occurred entirely during the time immediately surrounding the abortion, as well as an increase in self-favorability. No other changes were demonstrated in the patients' description or for their assessment of their partners' self-perception of them. These results are consistent with the view that, during the time horizon used in this study, the psychological effects of a decision to terminate an unwanted pregnancy positively affect self-favorability and anxiety levels. The short time horizon does not allow conclusions to be made regarding the effect on longer-term personality functions.

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