Psychosocial Predictors of Adjustment to Abortion

Psychosocial factors that may serve as “risk factors” for the experience of short‐term distress following induced abortion are reviewed. Factors found to be predictive of affective distress include blaming the pregnancy on one's character, low preabortion coping expectancies, low levels of perceived social support from important others, and a difficult abortion decision. Social conflict over the abortion decision, the nature of the woman's relationship with her partner, the coping strategies that she employs, her pre‐pregnancy level of psychological functioning, and life events occurring subsequent to the abortion are also suggested as potentially important predictors of adjustment. Coping expectancies are proposed to be the most proximal and important predictor of short‐term postabortion adjustment. Implications for clinical practice and public policy on abortion are discussed.