Risk Factors Identified by Pro-Choice Sources
COMPLETE LIST OF RISK FACTORS IDENTIFIED IN THE 2008 APA TASK FORCE REPORT
- terminating a pregnancy that is wanted or meaningful
- perceived pressure from others to terminate a pregnancy
- perceived opposition to the abortion from partners, family, and/or friends
- lack of perceived social support from others
- various personality traits (e.g., low self-esteem, a pessimistic outlook, low-perceived control over life)
- a history of mental health problems prior to the pregnancy
- feelings of stigma
- perceived need for secrecy
- exposure to antiabortion picketing
- use of avoidance and denial coping strategies
- Feelings of commitment to the pregnancy
- ambivalence about the abortion decision
- low perceived ability to cope with the abortion
- history of prior abortion
- late term abortion
- By parsing of the APA summary conclusion that "adult women who have an unplanned pregnancy the relative risk of mental health problems is no greater if they have a single elective first-trimester abortion than if they deliver that pregnancy," it also appears that the APA is identifying the following as risk factors
- being an adolescent (not an adult)
- having a non-elective (therapeutic or coerced) abortion
- prior history of abortion (having a second or third abortion, or more)
COMPLETE LIST OF RISK FACTORS IDENTIFIED IN THE NAF's "A Clinician's Guide to Medical and Surgical Abortion"
Predisposing Factors for Negative Reactions
p29 - Table 3-2.
- Low self-efficacy: expecting depression, severe grief or guilt, and regret after the abortion
- Low self-esteem prior to the abortion
- An existing mental illness or disorder prior to the abortion
- Significant ambivalence about the decision
- Lack of emotional support and receiving criticism from significant people in their lives
- Perceived coercion to have the abortion
- Belief that a fetus is the same as a 4-year-old human and that abortion is murder
- Fetal abnormality or other medical indications for the abortion
- Usual coping style is repressing thoughts or denial
- Unresolved past losses and perceptions of abortion as a loss
- Experiencing social stigma and antiabortion demonstrators on the day of the abortion
- Commitment to the pregnancy