BELIEFS ABOUT THE FETUS AS A MODERATOR OF POSTABORTION PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

This study examined whether an attitudinal variable, beliefs about the fetus, plays a moderating role in post-abortion psychological well-being. Subjects (N = 817) were recruited from the waiting rooms of physician's offices and answered questions about their pregnancy histories, self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and emotional states. Moderated regression analyses revealed that women who have had an abortion but who tended to believe that fetuses are human scored lower on the well-being variables than women who have not had an abortion. In contrast, women who have had an abortion and who tended to believed that fetuses are not human were as well adjusted as women who have not had an abortion. Beliefs about the fetus were associated with psychological well-being among women who have had abortion, but not among women who have not had an abortion. The findings are consistent with cognitive conflict theories in personality and social psychology.