Perceptions of abortion sequelae : health professionals versus abortion patients

This study was designed to examine the emotional after-effects of therapeutic abortion among Canadian women. and to compare these reports to the perceptions of abortion after-effects of physicians, nurses and social workers. Within each professional category were students who had never seen an abortion patient and professionals who had seen at least one such patient. All subjects completed measures of anxiety, guilt and depression under two conditions: self-report, and role-playing a woman who had undergone an abortion the previous day. When data from health professionals were compared with those of abortion patients, it was found that the professionals consistently overestimated psychological sequelae of abortion. Differences between professional groups are also reported in the study, and implications for professional training are discussed.