Coping with pregnancy resolution among never-married women

Abstract

The Janis-Mann model of decision-making provides the theoretical orientation for empirical analyses of decisions to deliver or abort in matched samples of never-married women. Results focus on four variables: happiness about pregnancy; initial acceptance of delivery or abortion; ease of decision-making; and satisfaction with final choice. Path analyses summarize findings, which are discussed in terms of conflict resolution strategies.

PIP: To examine in detail their decision-making process, 249 never-married owomen delivering and 249 women aborting a pregnancy were matched for age, race, parity, and welfare status; they completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, personality, previous pregnancy history, circumstances surrounding conception, reaction to pregnancy, influence of significant others, perception of decision process, attitudes toward abortion, and role models. The results are analyzed in terms of 1) happiness about being pregnant, 2) initial acceptance or rejection of the eventual decision to deliver or abort, 3) ease of the decision-making process, and 4) happiness about the eventual choice. In general, all pregnancies were greeted with sadness, but women delivering were relatively happier about the pregnancy, were more likely to initially accept delivery, received more support for their decision from others, had an easier decision process, and were happier with their eventual choice than women aborting. All women received more support than opposition to their choice from significant others. Path analysis of the 4 components of the decision process showed that sadness about the eventual decision was a function of (in rank order) a more difficult decision process, initial rejection of the choice made, and deciding to abort rather than deliver. The questionnaire findings are discussed in terms of the strategies the women used to cope with the stress of making a decision, including 1) the use of ego defense mechechanisms to avoid the reality of unwanted pregnancy, 2) management of interpersonal relationships with significant others as they impinge on the decision process, 3) the use of authority figures and societal expectations to arrive at a decision, 4) attitude and cognitive restructuring to avoid cognitive dissonance, 5) searching for new knowledge relevant to the decision, and 6) techniques to maintain self-esteem through the whole process.