IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v81y2013icp53-59.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Childhood adversities and subsequent risk of one or multiple abortions

Author

Listed:
  • Steinberg, Julia R.
  • Tschann, Jeanne M.

Abstract

Although many studies have found an association between childhood adversities and mental health disorders, few have examined whether childhood adversities are linked to having abortions. This research investigates the association between a range of childhood adversities and risk of abortion in part to identify which adversities should be considered when examining the association between abortion and subsequent mental health. Using the U.S. National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (NCS-R), we tested the association between 10 childhood adversities and risk of 0, 1, or multiple abortions among 1511 women ages 18–41. We employed multinomial logistic regression to examine the independent association between each childhood adversity and number of subsequent abortions, controlling for sociodemographic factors, total number of pregnancies, and each adversity. Women who had experienced two or more personal safety threats, one parental mental illness, or two or more parental mental illnesses while growing up were more likely subsequently to have multiple versus no abortions [Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) = 9.87, 95% CI: 2.45–39.72; OR = 2.81, 95% CI: 1.27–6.21; RRR = 5.28, 95% CI: 1.60–17.38, respectively], and multiple versus one abortion [RRR = 13.33, 95% CI: 2.48–71.68; RRR = 2.17, 95% CI: 1.03–4.56; RRR = 3.67, 95% CI: 1.15–11.76, respectively]. Women who had experienced childhood physical abuse were more likely to have one compared to no abortions [RRR = 2.00; 1.19–3.34]. These results suggest that some childhood adversities may partially explain the association between abortion and mental health. Accordingly, they should be considered in future research examining the link between abortion and mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Steinberg, Julia R. & Tschann, Jeanne M., 2013. "Childhood adversities and subsequent risk of one or multiple abortions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 53-59.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:81:y:2013:i:c:p:53-59
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.11.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953612007605
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.11.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Steinberg, Julia R. & Finer, Lawrence B., 2011. "Examining the association of abortion history and current mental health: A reanalysis of the National Comorbidity Survey using a common-risk-factors model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 72-82, January.
    2. Elise Jones & Jacqueline Forrest, 1992. "Underreporting of abortion in surveys of U.S. women: 1976 to 1988," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 29(1), pages 113-126, February.
    3. Jagannathan, R., 2001. "Relying on surveys to understand abortion behavior: Some cautionary evidence," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 91(11), pages 1825-1831.
    4. Steinberg, Julia Renee & Russo, Nancy F., 2008. "Abortion and anxiety: What's the relationship?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 238-252, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Steinberg, Julia R. & Tschann, Jeanne M. & Furgerson, Dorothy & Harper, Cynthia C., 2016. "Psychosocial factors and pre-abortion psychological health: The significance of stigma," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 67-75.
    2. Forsstrom, Matthew P., 2021. "Abortion Costs and Single Parenthood: A Life-Cycle Model of Fertility and Partnership Behavior," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Katherine I. Tierney, 2019. "Abortion Underreporting in Add Health: Findings and Implications," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 38(3), pages 417-428, June.
    4. Kelly, Kimberly, 2014. "The spread of ‘Post Abortion Syndrome’ as social diagnosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 18-25.
    5. Steinberg, Julia R. & Finer, Lawrence B., 2011. "Examining the association of abortion history and current mental health: A reanalysis of the National Comorbidity Survey using a common-risk-factors model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 72-82, January.
    6. Vidhura Tennekoon, 2017. "Counting unreported abortions: A binomial-thinned zero-inflated Poisson model," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(2), pages 41-72.
    7. Laura Lindberg & Kathryn Kost & Isaac Maddow-Zimet & Sheila Desai & Mia Zolna, 2020. "Abortion Reporting in the United States: An Assessment of Three National Fertility Surveys," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 899-925, June.
    8. Kornelia Zaręba & Marta Makara-Studzińska & Michał Ciebiera & Jacek Gierus & Grzegorz Jakiel, 2018. "Role of Social and Informational Support while Deciding on Pregnancy Termination for Medical Reasons," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-13, December.
    9. Pridemore, William Alex & Damphousse, Kelly R. & Moore, Rebecca K., 2005. "Obtaining sensitive information from a wary population: A comparison of telephone and face-to-face surveys of welfare recipients in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 976-984, September.
    10. Grant Miller & Christine Valente, 2016. "Population Policy: Abortion and Modern Contraception Are Substitutes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(4), pages 979-1009, August.
    11. Jagannathan, Radha & Camasso, Michael J., 2011. "Message and price components of Family Caps: Experimental evidence from New Jersey," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 292-302, August.
    12. D. Philipov & E. Andreev & T Kharkova & V. Shkolnikov, 2004. "Induced Abortion in Russia: Recent Trends and Underreporting in Surveys," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 20(2), pages 95-117, June.
    13. Joyce, Theodore & Kaestner, Robert, 1996. "State reproductive policies and adolescent pregnancy resolution: The case of parental involvement laws," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 579-607, October.
    14. Levine, Phillip B. & Trainor, Amy B. & Zimmerman, David J., 1996. "The effect of Medicaid abortion funding restrictions on abortions, pregnancies and births," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 555-578, October.
    15. Valente, Christine, 2014. "Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection: Evidence from Nepal," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 225-243.
    16. Nataliia Levchuk & Brienna Perelli-Harris, 2009. "Declining fertility in Ukraine: what is the role of abortion and contraception?," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2009-045, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    17. Hall, Kelli Stidham & Kusunoki, Yasamin & Gatny, Heather & Barber, Jennifer, 2014. "The risk of unintended pregnancy among young women with mental health symptoms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 62-71.
    18. Björn Huss, 2021. "Well-Being Before and After Pregnancy Termination: The Consequences of Abortion and Miscarriage on Satisfaction With Various Domains of Life," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 2803-2828, August.
    19. Laura S. Hussey, 2006. "Are Social Welfare Policies "Pro-Life"? An Individual-Level Analysis of Low-Income Women," Working Papers 896, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    20. Kane, Jennifer B. & Frisco, Michelle L., 2013. "Obesity, school obesity prevalence, and adolescent childbearing among U.S. young women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 108-115.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:81:y:2013:i:c:p:53-59. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.