Document Detail


Short-term grief after an elective abortion.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  11308107     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: To identify the short-term grief response after elective abortion. DESIGN: Descriptive, comparative study. SETTING: Instruments were administered in a women's health clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-three women, 45 who had a history of elective abortion within the past 1 to 14 months and 48 who had never had an abortion. Inclusion criteria included no perinatal losses within the past 5 years; no documented psychiatric history; and ability to read, write, and comprehend English. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Nature and intensity of short-term grief. RESULTS: Women with a history of elective abortion experienced grief in terms of loss of control, death anxiety, and dependency. Although there were no statistically significant differences in the intensity of grief in women who had a history of elective abortion and the comparison group, there was an overall trend toward higher grief intensities in the abortion group. Presence of living children, perceived pressure to have the abortion, and the number of abortions appear to affect the intensity of the short-term grief response. CONCLUSION: Elective abortion has the potential for eliciting a short-term grief response. Research is needed to identify which women are at greatest risk. This grief response should be acknowledged and appropriate interventions undertaken.
Authors:
G B Williams
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing : JOGNN / NAACOG     Volume:  30     ISSN:  0884-2175     ISO Abbreviation:  J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs     Publication Date:    2001 Mar-Apr
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2001-04-18     Completed Date:  2001-07-19     Revised Date:  2006-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8503123     Medline TA:  J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  174-83     Citation Subset:  IM; N    
Affiliation:
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Nursing, 78229-7951, USA. williamsg@uthscsa.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Abortion, Legal / adverse effects,  psychology*
Adaptation, Psychological
Adolescent
Adult
Attitude to Death
Attitude to Health*
Dependency (Psychology)
Female
Grief*
Humans
Internal-External Control
Motivation
Nursing Assessment
Pregnancy
Pregnancy, Unwanted / psychology*
Questionnaires
Risk Factors
Time Factors

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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