Brenda Major - Revision history

Barb: /* Refusal to Share Data Violates APA Ethics Rules and May Conceal Truth */

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Refusal to Share Data Violates APA Ethics Rules and May Conceal Truth

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	Brenda Major's has similarly refused to share data from her studies even when the data was requested by the Department of Health and Human Services.[http://www.scribd.com/doc/4558993/Brenda-Major-Evades-HHS-Abortion-Data-Request]The withholding of data from other researchers is a violation of APA ethics rule 8.14.[http://www.apa.org/ethics/code2002.html#8_14][http://wthrockmorton.com/tag/brenda-major/][http://wthrockmorton.com/tag/apa-mental-health-and-abortion-task-force/][http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08081307.html][http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13542]		Brenda Major's has similarly refused to share data from her studies even when the data was requested by the Department of Health and Human Services.[http://www.scribd.com/doc/4558993/Brenda-Major-Evades-HHS-Abortion-Data-Request]The withholding of data from other researchers is a violation of APA ethics rule 8.14.[http://www.apa.org/ethics/code2002.html#8_14][http://wthrockmorton.com/tag/brenda-major/][http://wthrockmorton.com/tag/apa-mental-health-and-abortion-task-force/][http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08081307.html][http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13542]


			== Methodological Problems - Comparing Relief to Negative Feelings ==

			Reports of "relief" following abortion are inconsistent and vague as relief can mean anything. Relief that the medical procedure is over. Relief that one's boyfriend is no longer badgering her to have an abortion. Relief that she survived and is not bleeding. Relief that no one in her family knows.

			In short, "relief" is not necessarily a sign of an substantial improvement in mental health or well being, much less evidence that there is not some co-concurrent harm. The survivor of a plane crash may, for example, feel both relief and pain, including PTSD, shock and internal bleeding.

			How meaningful is it to compare a woman's feelings of relief to have the abortion behind her <ref>Amy Beeman. [http://www.salon.com/2015/05/25/working_at_an_abortion_clinic_challenged_my_pro_choice_views_%E2%80%94_and_confirmed_them/ Working at an abortion clinic challenged my pro-choice views — and confirmed them}. Salon. SUNDAY, MAY 24, 2015. Accessed May 20, 2015.</ref> with feelings of loss, depression, and guilt? Yet that is exactly what has been done by numerous researchers, without any clarification or qualification regarding what kinds of relief women are feeling.

			For example, in one widely cited study, Brenda Major<ref>
			*Major, B., Cozzarelli, C., Cooper, M.L., Zubek, J., Richards, C., Wilhite, M., & Gramzow, R.H. (2000). [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10920466?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum Psychological responses of women after first-trimester abortion.] Archives of General Psychiatry, 57(8), 777-84. [http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/57/8/777 Full Text] </ref> reported that at one hour after their abortions, women reported feeling more relief than positive emotions, more relief than negative emotions, and more positive than negative emotions. Yet when a minority of the women were interviewed again, two years after their abortion, the levels of relief had declined as had the average score of positive emotions. Meanwhile, negative emotions had significantly increased.

			But Major dismisses the decline in relief and rise in negative emotions with the claim that feelings of relief were still more common than the average of negative emotions. But again, the question asking women to rank feelings of relief on a scale of 1 to 5 does not tell us much about what that relief really means...much less how it differs from women who are relieved that their abortion is over and done with two years ago compared to the women who are relieved that they do not have a child to raise or to the women who are relieved that no one knows about their abortion or those who are relieved that they finally received some post-abortion counseling to help heal from negative feelings.

			How is one to really interpret the average score on a scale of 1-5 for relief of 3.53 for 386 women one hour after their abortions and an average of 3.11 for two years later? How many of the women are even relieved about the same things. Indeed, on a scale of 1 to 5, a score around 3 is neutral, indicating very little if any relief.

			Yet Major's study is frequently cited as proof that negative emotions after abortion are less common than relief. But this claim is actually very suspect.

			Major's study actually compares the single score for relief to a composite average of six scores for negative emotions: "sad," "disappointed," "guilty," "blue," "low," and "feelings of loss." This comparing of a single measure to averaged measures can be very deceiving.

			Consider a single woman who answers a neutral 3 for "relief" and "5" for guilty and "1" for the other five negative variables. This would produce an just 1.6 for negative feelings compared to 3 for relief, when in fact an examination of her strongest reaction to all seven variables clearly indicates that guilt is her strongest emotion. Indeed, a 5 for guilt and a 5 for sad would still give only a 2.3, still well below a neutral relief score.

			The selection of negative emotions used by Major is also problematic. A scale for negative emotions should include the most commonly reported negative emotions of women. These most commonly reported negative emotions should have been identified from prior studies, particularly interviews or open-ended questionnaires where women describe their negative feelings in their own words.

			If this had been done, the variable "disappointed" would not have been included in Major's list of six negative emotions. In prior interview based studies with women, there is no indication that the emotion of feeling "disappointed" commonly occurs. Guilt, sadness, loss, depression, yes. But disappointed? No.

			Similarly, the decision to include "sad," "blue," and "low," as three separate variables is also odd. Admittedly, all three are terms used to describe feelings of depression. But many people consider them at least closely related if not synonymous. The problem, from a study design perspective, is that asking women to rate each of three nearly synonymous feelings separately is likely to suggest that women should try to tease out which of these three they felt the most, therefore rating one of these "blue," for example, higher and the other two "sad" or "low" lower in order to better clarify which specific flavor of depressive feelings she was experiencing. By contrast, if Major had chosen to use a single word, or if she had even shown all three words "sad, blue, or low" as a single variable to inquire about any of these commonly used words for depressive feelings, that single score would likely have been higher than the average of these these three words when treated as separate and distinct feelings.

	== Major's Washington Post Editorial ==		== Major's Washington Post Editorial ==

Barb: /* Brenda Major Dismisses Women's Self-Assessment of Post-Abortion Distress */

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Brenda Major Dismisses Women's Self-Assessment of Post-Abortion Distress

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	:In my opinion, this finding that one-fourth of women two years after their abortion had high depression scores should have motivated the researchers to encourage more detailed pre-abortion screening and post-abortion counseling. But curiously, the authors appeared to generally dismiss the importance of their own findings on the basis of the hypothesis that giving birth to an unwanted pregnancy would likely incur equal or greater psychological price,<ref name="four" /> a theme echoed by Schmiege and Russo.<ref>Schmiege S, Russo NF. Depression and unwanted first pregnancy: longitudinal cohort study</ref> This is an extremely important hypothesis, but it is also a hypothesis, which up to that point, had never been tested. In the most recent, comprehensive review of the literature on emotional reactions to abortion and future research priorities,<ref>Coleman PK, Reardon DC, Strahan T, Cougle JR. The psychology of abortion: a review and suggestions for future research. Psychology and Health 2005; 20(2):237-271.</ref> the absence of studies examining psychological adjustment following an unintended pregnancy using control groups (comparing those who abort to those who carry to term) is identified as a major shortcoming of the existing literature. Our original study appears to be the first to employ this very appropriate control group.<ref>Reardon DC, Cougle JR. Depression and unintended pregnancy in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth: a cohort study. British Medical Journal. 2002; 324:151-2. http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/324/7330/151 </ref> We have continued to pursue this direction with two other studies that have compared the psychological wellbeing of women who carry unintended pregnancies to term with women who have abortions: one finding higher risk of long-term generalized anxiety disorder among women who abort<ref>Cougle JR, Reardon DC, Coleman PK. Generalized anxiety following unintended pregnancies resolved through childbirth and abortion: a cohort study of the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. J Anxiety Disord. 2005;19(1):137-42.</ref> and the other finding higher rates of substance abuse.<ref>Reardon DC, Coleman PK, Cougle JR. Substance use associated with unintended pregnancy outcomes in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Am. J. Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 2004; 26(1):369 - 383.</ref>		:In my opinion, this finding that one-fourth of women two years after their abortion had high depression scores should have motivated the researchers to encourage more detailed pre-abortion screening and post-abortion counseling. But curiously, the authors appeared to generally dismiss the importance of their own findings on the basis of the hypothesis that giving birth to an unwanted pregnancy would likely incur equal or greater psychological price,<ref name="four" /> a theme echoed by Schmiege and Russo.<ref>Schmiege S, Russo NF. Depression and unwanted first pregnancy: longitudinal cohort study</ref> This is an extremely important hypothesis, but it is also a hypothesis, which up to that point, had never been tested. In the most recent, comprehensive review of the literature on emotional reactions to abortion and future research priorities,<ref>Coleman PK, Reardon DC, Strahan T, Cougle JR. The psychology of abortion: a review and suggestions for future research. Psychology and Health 2005; 20(2):237-271.</ref> the absence of studies examining psychological adjustment following an unintended pregnancy using control groups (comparing those who abort to those who carry to term) is identified as a major shortcoming of the existing literature. Our original study appears to be the first to employ this very appropriate control group.<ref>Reardon DC, Cougle JR. Depression and unintended pregnancy in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth: a cohort study. British Medical Journal. 2002; 324:151-2. http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/324/7330/151 </ref> We have continued to pursue this direction with two other studies that have compared the psychological wellbeing of women who carry unintended pregnancies to term with women who have abortions: one finding higher risk of long-term generalized anxiety disorder among women who abort<ref>Cougle JR, Reardon DC, Coleman PK. Generalized anxiety following unintended pregnancies resolved through childbirth and abortion: a cohort study of the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. J Anxiety Disord. 2005;19(1):137-42.</ref> and the other finding higher rates of substance abuse.<ref>Reardon DC, Coleman PK, Cougle JR. Substance use associated with unintended pregnancy outcomes in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Am. J. Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 2004; 26(1):369 - 383.</ref>

	== Brenda Major Dismisses Women's Self-Assessment of Post-Abortion Distress ==		== Brenda Major Dismisses Women's Self-Assessment of Post-Abortion Distress & Ignores Statistically Validated Studies ==

	Brenda Major believes the testimonies of thousands of women who attributed their depression, anxiety, or other issues related to abortion can and should be dismissed. This is like saying women who have been raped can't be trusted when they say their psychiatric symptoms are due to their rapes...after all, it could be because they suffered bad potty training at the hands of an unloving mother, and they just wrongly attribute it to rape. See [[Letters to APA Regarding Task Force on Abortion]] for an excellent response to this favorite abortion trauma denier's argument.		Brenda Major believes the testimonies of thousands of women who attributed their depression, anxiety, or other issues related to abortion can and should be dismissed. This is like saying women who have been raped can't be trusted when they say their psychiatric symptoms are due to their rapes...after all, it could be because they suffered bad potty training at the hands of an unloving mother, and they just wrongly attribute it to rape. See [[Letters to APA Regarding Task Force on Abortion]] for an excellent response to this favorite abortion trauma denier's argument.
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	Furthermore, you will note that Major never acknowledges that it is up to those who favor abortion to demonstrate a ''causal'' connection between abortion and it's hoped for benefits. In fact, other than the vaguely defined feeling of "relief," few if any benefits have been found to be even statistically associated with abortion, much less proven to be benefits 'caused' by abortion.		Furthermore, you will note that Major never acknowledges that it is up to those who favor abortion to demonstrate a ''causal'' connection between abortion and it's hoped for benefits. In fact, other than the vaguely defined feeling of "relief," few if any benefits have been found to be even statistically associated with abortion, much less proven to be benefits 'caused' by abortion.

	In addition, Major's lack of concern for accuracy is demonstrated by her very inaccurate description of the studies cited by Reardon in regard to the quote she truncated and criticized. Not even one of the four citations he used were employed "samples of women who have self-identified as feeling depressed resulting from abortion." The Rue study, for example, was based on questionnaires given to women with any history of pregnancy loss and did not employ without self-identification of negative reactions to abortion as part of the selection process nor did it even examine depression.<ref>Rue VM, Coleman PK, Rue JJ, Reardon DC. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15448616 Induced abortion and traumatic stress: A preliminary comparison of American and Russian women.] Med Sci Monit, 2004 10(10): SR5-16.</ref> This lack of precision is typical of idealogues for whom the idea is more important than the facts. By ignoring Reardon's citations, and instead attacking the existence of other evidence (self-reports), she is attacking a straw man of her own creation in an effort to promote the ideological idea that the 'only' evidence of negative reactions post-abortions is from self-reports.		In addition, Major's lack of concern for accuracy is demonstrated by her very inaccurate description of the studies cited by Reardon in regard to the quote she truncated and criticized. Not even one of the four citations he used were employed "samples of women who have self-identified as feeling depressed resulting from abortion." The Rue study, for example, was based on questionnaires given to women with any history of pregnancy loss and did not employ without self-identification of negative reactions to abortion as part of the selection process nor did it even examine depression.<ref>Rue VM, Coleman PK, Rue JJ, Reardon DC. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15448616 Induced abortion and traumatic stress: A preliminary comparison of American and Russian women.] Med Sci Monit, 2004 10(10): SR5-16.</ref> This lack of precision is typical of idealogues for whom the idea is more important than the facts. By ignoring Reardon's citations, and instead attacking the existence of other evidence (self-reports), she is attacking a straw man of her own creation in an effort to promote the ideological idea that the 'only' evidence of negative reactions post-abortions is from self-reports.


	== Refusal to Share Data Violates APA Ethics Rules and May Conceal Truth ==		== Refusal to Share Data Violates APA Ethics Rules and May Conceal Truth ==

Barb: /* List of Major's Studies Regarding Abortion and Mental Health */

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List of Major's Studies Regarding Abortion and Mental Health

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	*Major, B., Cozzarelli, C., Cooper, M.L., Zubek, J., Richards, C., Wilhite, M., & Gramzow, R.H. (2000). [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10920466?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum Psychological responses of women after first-trimester abortion.] Archives of General Psychiatry, 57(8), 777-84. [http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/57/8/777 Full Text]		*Major, B., Cozzarelli, C., Cooper, M.L., Zubek, J., Richards, C., Wilhite, M., & Gramzow, R.H. (2000). [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10920466?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum Psychological responses of women after first-trimester abortion.] Archives of General Psychiatry, 57(8), 777-84. [http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/57/8/777 Full Text]
			::In this study, Major reported that at one hour after their abortions, women reported feeling more relief than positive emotions, more relief than negative emotions, and more positive than negative emotions. At two years after their abortion, women continued to feel more relief than either positive or negative emotions, but during that two year period relief and positive emotions declined and negative emotions increased. At both interview times, the measure of relief was based on a single score. The measures of positive emotions was created from an average of three scores for feeling "happy", "pleased" and "satisfied." The measure of negative scores was created from an average of six negative emotions: "sad," "disappointed," "guilty," "blue," "low," and "feelings of loss." Since the averaging of six negative emotions would clearly reduce the score for the most highly rated single negative emotion, comparing a single score "relief" against an average of six different negative emotions may be misleading, since clearly effect of averaging is to reduce the score of the highest single negative emotion by averaging it down with less frequently experienced negative emotions.

	**In this study, Major reported that at one hour after their abortions, women reported feeling more relief than positive emotions, more relief than negative emotions, and more positive than negative emotions. At two years after their abortion, women continued to feel more relief than either positive or negative emotions, but during that two year period relief and positive emotions declined and negative emotions increased. At both interview times, the measure of relief was based on a single score. The measures of positive emotions was created from an average of three scores for feeling "happy", "pleased" and "satisfied." The measure of negative scores was created from an average of six negative emotions: "sad," "disappointed," "guilty," "blue," "low," and "feelings of loss." Since the averaging of six negative emotions would clearly reduce the score for the most highly rated single negative emotion, comparing a single score "relief" against an average of six different negative emotions may be misleading, since clearly effect of averaging is to reduce the score of the highest single negative emotion by averaging it down with less frequently experienced negative emotions.

	== Criticism of Major's Spin on Her Findings ==		== Criticism of Major's Spin on Her Findings ==

Barb: /* List of Major's Studies Regarding Abortion and Mental Health */

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List of Major's Studies Regarding Abortion and Mental Health

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	*Major, B., Cozzarelli, C., Cooper, M.L., Zubek, J., Richards, C., Wilhite, M., & Gramzow, R.H. (2000). [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10920466?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum Psychological responses of women after first-trimester abortion.] Archives of General Psychiatry, 57(8), 777-84. [http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/57/8/777 Full Text]		*Major, B., Cozzarelli, C., Cooper, M.L., Zubek, J., Richards, C., Wilhite, M., & Gramzow, R.H. (2000). [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10920466?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum Psychological responses of women after first-trimester abortion.] Archives of General Psychiatry, 57(8), 777-84. [http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/57/8/777 Full Text]


			**In this study, Major reported that at one hour after their abortions, women reported feeling more relief than positive emotions, more relief than negative emotions, and more positive than negative emotions. At two years after their abortion, women continued to feel more relief than either positive or negative emotions, but during that two year period relief and positive emotions declined and negative emotions increased. At both interview times, the measure of relief was based on a single score. The measures of positive emotions was created from an average of three scores for feeling "happy", "pleased" and "satisfied." The measure of negative scores was created from an average of six negative emotions: "sad," "disappointed," "guilty," "blue," "low," and "feelings of loss." Since the averaging of six negative emotions would clearly reduce the score for the most highly rated single negative emotion, comparing a single score "relief" against an average of six different negative emotions may be misleading, since clearly effect of averaging is to reduce the score of the highest single negative emotion by averaging it down with less frequently experienced negative emotions.

	== Criticism of Major's Spin on Her Findings ==		== Criticism of Major's Spin on Her Findings ==

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	[]== Biography ==		== Biography ==

	*Brenda N. Major is a professor of psychology at UC Santa Barbara[http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/major/] and was the chair of the [[APA Abortion Report\|APA's Task Force on Abotion and Mental Health]] and lead author of that report. [[Nancy Russo]] was also a member of the APA Task Force.		*Brenda N. Major is a professor of psychology at UC Santa Barbara[http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/major/] and was the chair of the [[APA Abortion Report\|APA's Task Force on Abotion and Mental Health]] and lead author of that report. [[Nancy Russo]] was also a member of the APA Task Force.
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	:Women's eNewsletter wrote that Exhale’s "monthly budget [is] "$500…for phones, brochures and office space," but their annual operating budget is either “$200,000” or "$250,000"<ref>http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_2769183</ref>		:Women's eNewsletter wrote that Exhale’s "monthly budget [is] "$500…for phones, brochures and office space," but their annual operating budget is either “$200,000” or "$250,000"<ref>http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_2769183</ref>

	*Major has published a number of studies on abortion with an emphasis on attributing negative psychological effects of abortion with lack of social support and stigma caused by anti-abortion protests. In violation of APA ethics rules on data sharing, however, she has refused to allow other researchers to examine her data despite accusations that she has misrepresented and selectively reported her findings.<ref name="ertelt1"> Steven Ertelt &lt;http://www.lifenews.com/nat4135.html Researcher: APA Chair Withholding Info on Abortion's Mental Health Risks&gt; LifeNews.com August 15, 2008</ref> ~~[http://www.thediamondtrade.com/ sell a diamond]~~		*Major has published a number of studies on abortion with an emphasis on attributing negative psychological effects of abortion with lack of social support and stigma caused by anti-abortion protests. In violation of APA ethics rules on data sharing, however, she has refused to allow other researchers to examine her data despite accusations that she has misrepresented and selectively reported her findings.<ref name="ertelt1"> Steven Ertelt &lt;http://www.lifenews.com/nat4135.html Researcher: APA Chair Withholding Info on Abortion's Mental Health Risks&gt; LifeNews.com August 15, 2008</ref>

	== List of Major's Studies Regarding Abortion and Mental Health ==		== List of Major's Studies Regarding Abortion and Mental Health ==
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	:This brings me back to the original purpose of our study which was to investigate the hypothesis [of Brenda Major] that the previously observed increased risk of depression following abortion might be inconsequential compared to equal or higher rates of depression that might be associated with giving birth to an unintended child..<ref name="four" /> While our original short report did not provide room for this discussion, I will offer it here.		:This brings me back to the original purpose of our study which was to investigate the hypothesis [of Brenda Major] that the previously observed increased risk of depression following abortion might be inconsequential compared to equal or higher rates of depression that might be associated with giving birth to an unintended child..<ref name="four" /> While our original short report did not provide room for this discussion, I will offer it here.

	:In a follow-up study of 442 women who had abortions, researchers [Brenda Major's team] tracked depression scores using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) one hour post-abortion, one month post-abortion, and two years post-abortion.<ref name="four">Major B, Cozzarelli C, Cooper ML et al: Psychological responses of women after first trimester abortion. Arch Gen Psych, 2000; 57(8): 777-84.</ref><ref name="five">Cozzarelli, C., Major, B., Karrasch, A., &amp; Fuegen, K. (2000). Women’s experiences of and reactions to antiabortion picketing. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 2000;22:265-275. </ref> At the two year follow-up, approximately 50% of the women either refused to participate in the follow-up evaluation or could not be contacted. Among those who did participate in the two year ~~<span class="plainlinks">[http://www.merchantos.com <span style="color:black;font-weight:normal; text-decoration:none!important; background:none!important; text-decoration:none;">pos system</span>]~~ post-abortion assessment, depression scores were significantly higher than their one hour post-abortion scores, though higher one hour post-abortion scores were also significantly predictive of higher depression scores two years later.<ref name="five" />		:In a follow-up study of 442 women who had abortions, researchers [Brenda Major's team] tracked depression scores using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) one hour post-abortion, one month post-abortion, and two years post-abortion.<ref name="four">Major B, Cozzarelli C, Cooper ML et al: Psychological responses of women after first trimester abortion. Arch Gen Psych, 2000; 57(8): 777-84.</ref><ref name="five">Cozzarelli, C., Major, B., Karrasch, A., &amp; Fuegen, K. (2000). Women’s experiences of and reactions to antiabortion picketing. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 2000;22:265-275. </ref> At the two year follow-up, approximately 50% of the women either refused to participate in the follow-up evaluation or could not be contacted. Among those who did participate in the two year post-abortion assessment, depression scores were significantly higher than their one hour post-abortion scores, though higher one hour post-abortion scores were also significantly predictive of higher depression scores two years later.<ref name="five" />

	:In addition to these important findings, the researchers found that 24.5% of the women remaining in their sample at the two-year followup had scores above the cutoff for clinical depression on the BSI depression scale.<ref name="five" />		:In addition to these important findings, the researchers found that 24.5% of the women remaining in their sample at the two-year followup had scores above the cutoff for clinical depression on the BSI depression scale.<ref name="five" />

Brianpalmer2010 at 06:03, 25 April 2011

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	== Biography ==		[]== Biography ==

	*Brenda N. Major is a professor of psychology at UC Santa Barbara[http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/major/] and was the chair of the [[APA Abortion Report\|APA's Task Force on Abotion and Mental Health]] and lead author of that report. [[Nancy Russo]] was also a member of the APA Task Force.		*Brenda N. Major is a professor of psychology at UC Santa Barbara[http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/major/] and was the chair of the [[APA Abortion Report\|APA's Task Force on Abotion and Mental Health]] and lead author of that report. [[Nancy Russo]] was also a member of the APA Task Force.
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	:Women's eNewsletter wrote that Exhale’s "monthly budget [is] "$500…for phones, brochures and office space," but their annual operating budget is either “$200,000” or "$250,000"<ref>http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_2769183</ref>		:Women's eNewsletter wrote that Exhale’s "monthly budget [is] "$500…for phones, brochures and office space," but their annual operating budget is either “$200,000” or "$250,000"<ref>http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_2769183</ref>

	*Major has published a number of studies on abortion with an emphasis on attributing negative psychological effects of abortion with lack of social support and stigma caused by anti-abortion protests. In violation of APA ethics rules on data sharing, however, she has refused to allow other researchers to examine her data despite accusations that she has misrepresented and selectively reported her findings.<ref name="ertelt1"> Steven Ertelt &lt;http://www.lifenews.com/nat4135.html Researcher: APA Chair Withholding Info on Abortion's Mental Health Risks&gt; LifeNews.com August 15, 2008</ref>		*Major has published a number of studies on abortion with an emphasis on attributing negative psychological effects of abortion with lack of social support and stigma caused by anti-abortion protests. In violation of APA ethics rules on data sharing, however, she has refused to allow other researchers to examine her data despite accusations that she has misrepresented and selectively reported her findings.<ref name="ertelt1"> Steven Ertelt &lt;http://www.lifenews.com/nat4135.html Researcher: APA Chair Withholding Info on Abortion's Mental Health Risks&gt; LifeNews.com August 15, 2008</ref> [http://www.thediamondtrade.com/ sell a diamond]

	== List of Major's Studies Regarding Abortion and Mental Health ==		== List of Major's Studies Regarding Abortion and Mental Health ==

Junreybosh at 06:25, 1 April 2011

2011-04-01T06:25:27Z

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	:This brings me back to the original purpose of our study which was to investigate the hypothesis [of Brenda Major] that the previously observed increased risk of depression following abortion might be inconsequential compared to equal or higher rates of depression that might be associated with giving birth to an unintended child..<ref name="four" /> While our original short report did not provide room for this discussion, I will offer it here.		:This brings me back to the original purpose of our study which was to investigate the hypothesis [of Brenda Major] that the previously observed increased risk of depression following abortion might be inconsequential compared to equal or higher rates of depression that might be associated with giving birth to an unintended child..<ref name="four" /> While our original short report did not provide room for this discussion, I will offer it here.

	:In a follow-up study of 442 women who had abortions, researchers [Brenda Major's team] tracked depression scores using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) one hour post-abortion, one month post-abortion, and two years post-abortion.<ref name="four">Major B, Cozzarelli C, Cooper ML et al: Psychological responses of women after first trimester abortion. Arch Gen Psych, 2000; 57(8): 777-84.</ref><ref name="five">Cozzarelli, C., Major, B., Karrasch, A., &amp; Fuegen, K. (2000). Women’s experiences of and reactions to antiabortion picketing. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 2000;22:265-275. </ref> At the two year follow-up, approximately 50% of the women either refused to participate in the follow-up evaluation or could not be contacted. Among those who did participate in the two year post-abortion assessment, depression scores were significantly higher than their one hour post-abortion scores, though higher one hour post-abortion scores were also significantly predictive of higher depression scores two years later.<ref name="five" />		:In a follow-up study of 442 women who had abortions, researchers [Brenda Major's team] tracked depression scores using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) one hour post-abortion, one month post-abortion, and two years post-abortion.<ref name="four">Major B, Cozzarelli C, Cooper ML et al: Psychological responses of women after first trimester abortion. Arch Gen Psych, 2000; 57(8): 777-84.</ref><ref name="five">Cozzarelli, C., Major, B., Karrasch, A., &amp; Fuegen, K. (2000). Women’s experiences of and reactions to antiabortion picketing. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 2000;22:265-275. </ref> At the two year follow-up, approximately 50% of the women either refused to participate in the follow-up evaluation or could not be contacted. Among those who did participate in the two year <span class="plainlinks">[http://www.merchantos.com <span style="color:black;font-weight:normal; text-decoration:none!important; background:none!important; text-decoration:none;">pos system</span>] post-abortion assessment, depression scores were significantly higher than their one hour post-abortion scores, though higher one hour post-abortion scores were also significantly predictive of higher depression scores two years later.<ref name="five" />

	:In addition to these important findings, the researchers found that 24.5% of the women remaining in their sample at the two-year followup had scores above the cutoff for clinical depression on the BSI depression scale.<ref name="five" />		:In addition to these important findings, the researchers found that 24.5% of the women remaining in their sample at the two-year followup had scores above the cutoff for clinical depression on the BSI depression scale.<ref name="five" />

Barb at 20:33, 12 November 2010

2010-11-12T20:33:25Z

Show changes

Barb: /* Refusal to Share Data Violates APA Ethics Rules and May Conceal Truth */

2010-11-08T15:35:58Z

Refusal to Share Data Violates APA Ethics Rules and May Conceal Truth

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:35, 8 November 2010
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	In addition, Major's lack of concern for accuracy is demonstrated by her very inaccurate description of the studies cited by Reardon in regard to the quote she truncated and criticized. Not even one of the four citations he used were employed "samples of women who have self-identified as feeling depressed resulting from abortion." The Rue study, for example, was based on questionnaires given to women with any history of pregnancy loss and did not employ without self-identification of negative reactions to abortion as part of the selection process nor did it even examine depression.<ref>Rue VM, Coleman PK, Rue JJ, Reardon DC. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15448616 Induced abortion and traumatic stress: A preliminary comparison of American and Russian women.] Med Sci Monit, 2004 10(10): SR5-16.</ref> This lack of precision is typical of idealogues for whom the idea is more important than the facts. By ignoring Reardon's citations, and instead attacking the existence of other evidence (self-reports), she is attacking a straw man of her own creation in an effort to promote the ideological idea that the 'only' evidence of negative reactions post-abortions is from self-reports.		In addition, Major's lack of concern for accuracy is demonstrated by her very inaccurate description of the studies cited by Reardon in regard to the quote she truncated and criticized. Not even one of the four citations he used were employed "samples of women who have self-identified as feeling depressed resulting from abortion." The Rue study, for example, was based on questionnaires given to women with any history of pregnancy loss and did not employ without self-identification of negative reactions to abortion as part of the selection process nor did it even examine depression.<ref>Rue VM, Coleman PK, Rue JJ, Reardon DC. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15448616 Induced abortion and traumatic stress: A preliminary comparison of American and Russian women.] Med Sci Monit, 2004 10(10): SR5-16.</ref> This lack of precision is typical of idealogues for whom the idea is more important than the facts. By ignoring Reardon's citations, and instead attacking the existence of other evidence (self-reports), she is attacking a straw man of her own creation in an effort to promote the ideological idea that the 'only' evidence of negative reactions post-abortions is from self-reports.

			== Major's Washington Post Editorial ==

			Major wrote an editorial for the ''Washington Post'' [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/05/AR2010110507322.html The big lie about abortion and mental health].


	== Refusal to Share Data Violates APA Ethics Rules and May Conceal Truth ==		== Refusal to Share Data Violates APA Ethics Rules and May Conceal Truth ==
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	The refusal to share raw data regarding global warming, and the the subsequent "loss" of that data<ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=ZTBiMTRlMDQxNzEyMmRhZjU3ZmYzODI5MGY4ZWI5OWM= The Dog Ate Global WarmingfckLR]</ref> <ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6936328.ece Climate change data dumped] - Times Online Nov 29, 2009 </ref><ref>[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/13/cru_missing/] See also emails regarding the data, [http://michellemalkin.com/2009/06/24/the-climate-change-e-mails-epa-doesnt-want-you-to-see/] and [http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/11/25/browner-shrugs-off-hot-debate-on-climate-change-emails/] and [http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2009/nov/25/monbiot-climate-leak-crisis-response] </ref> points to the problem of how politically motivated scientists may be tempted to protect their interpretation of data by hiding the data from examination by others.		The refusal to share raw data regarding global warming, and the the subsequent "loss" of that data<ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=ZTBiMTRlMDQxNzEyMmRhZjU3ZmYzODI5MGY4ZWI5OWM= The Dog Ate Global WarmingfckLR]</ref> <ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6936328.ece Climate change data dumped] - Times Online Nov 29, 2009 </ref><ref>[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/13/cru_missing/] See also emails regarding the data, [http://michellemalkin.com/2009/06/24/the-climate-change-e-mails-epa-doesnt-want-you-to-see/] and [http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/11/25/browner-shrugs-off-hot-debate-on-climate-change-emails/] and [http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2009/nov/25/monbiot-climate-leak-crisis-response] </ref> points to the problem of how politically motivated scientists may be tempted to protect their interpretation of data by hiding the data from examination by others.

	Brenda Major's has similarly refused to share data from her studies even when the data was requested by the Department of Health and Human Services.[http://www.scribd.com/doc/4558993/Brenda-Major-Evades-HHS-Abortion-Data-Request]The withholding of data from other researchers is a violation of APA ethics rule 8.14.[http://www.apa.org/ethics/code2002.html#8_14][http://wthrockmorton.com/tag/brenda-major/][http://wthrockmorton.com/tag/apa-mental-health-and-abortion-task-force/][http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08081307.html][http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13542]		Brenda Major's has similarly refused to share data from her studies even when the data was requested by the Department of Health and Human Services.[http://www.scribd.com/doc/4558993/Brenda-Major-Evades-HHS-Abortion-Data-Request]The withholding of data from other researchers is a violation of APA ethics rule 8.14.[http://www.apa.org/ethics/code2002.html#8_14][http://wthrockmorton.com/tag/brenda-major/][http://wthrockmorton.com/tag/apa-mental-health-and-abortion-task-force/][http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08081307.html][http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13542]

	== References ==		== References ==

WikiSysop: /* Biography */

2010-06-09T14:48:30Z

Biography

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:48, 9 June 2010
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	== Biography ==		== Biography ==

	*Brenda N. Major is a professor of psychology at UC Santa Barbara[http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/major/] and was the chair of the APA's Task Force on Abotion and Mental Health and lead author of that report.		*Brenda N. Major is a professor of psychology at UC Santa Barbara[http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/major/] and was the chair of the [[APA Abortion Report\|APA's Task Force on Abotion and Mental Health]] and lead author of that report. [[Nancy Russo]] was also a member of the APA Task Force.

	*She is also a member of the APA "Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35)<ref name="Bvitae">http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/~major/lab/vita.html Curriculum Vitae Brenda Major, Ph.D.]</ref> which describes its mission as serving the ideological ends of feminism by means of providing "an organizational base for all feminists, women and men of all national origins, who are interested in teaching, research, or practice in the psychology of women."[http://www.apa.org/about/division/div35.html]		*She is also a member of the APA "Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35)<ref name="Bvitae">http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/~major/lab/vita.html Curriculum Vitae Brenda Major, Ph.D.]</ref> which describes its mission as serving the ideological ends of feminism by means of providing "an organizational base for all feminists, women and men of all national origins, who are interested in teaching, research, or practice in the psychology of women."[http://www.apa.org/about/division/div35.html]