The Measure of Induced Abortion Levels in Mexico Using Random Response Technique

The authors used the random response technique (RRT) to measure frequency of induced abortion in Mexico, where its practice is illegal under most circumstances. They applied RRT to a national, multistage probabilistic sample of 1,792 women ages 15 to 55. The distribution of women who reported having had an induced abortion was analyzed by sociodemographic characteristics. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with having had an induced abortion. Overall prevalence of induced abortion was 16.3 percent. Three factors were associated with reported induced abortion: having grown up in the city (bivariate odd ratio [OR] 2.16, multiple logistic OR 2.24), having never given birth (bivariate OR 1.60, multiple logistic OR 2.06), and having had an unwanted pregnancy (bivariate OR 2.09, multiple logistic OR 2.81). RRT produced a better estimation of induced abortion compared with other methodologies. This technique works best with urban and educated women.