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Orientations toward abortion: guilty or knowledge?
Adolescence
|January 1, 1981
Summary
Student attitudes toward abortion align with national trends. Affective messages during sexual socialization may influence abortion views more than intellectual arguments.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Reproductive Health Attitudes
Background:
- The abortion debate involves complex ethical, moral, and personal considerations.
- Understanding student perspectives is crucial given their demographic relevance to reproductive decisions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To classify students' stances on abortion (pro-choice, anti-abortion, mixed).
- To compare these classifications with national survey data.
- To examine differences in attitudes toward abortion, premarital sex, sex guilt, and sexual knowledge among these groups.
Main Methods:
- 118 students were categorized based on responses to ten hypothetical abortion case histories.
- Attitudes toward abortion, premarital sex, sex guilt, and sexual knowledge were assessed.
Main Results:
- Student abortion issue distribution mirrored a 1979 national survey.
- Significant differences were found in attitudes toward abortion as murder, legalization, and premarital sex morality.
- Groups differed significantly in sex guilt levels but not in sexual knowledge.
Conclusions:
- Affective messages in sexual socialization may be more influential than rational arguments in shaping abortion stances.
- This highlights the role of emotional and social factors in reproductive health decision-making.