Abstract
This paper presents results of a validation survey of abortion conducted in Tallinn, Estonia in April and May 1992. The sample was drawn from patient records in a maternity hospital. Women who had an abortion in that hospital in 1991 were asked about recent abortions as part of a survey about women’s health. More than 80% of the respondents reported having a recent abortion. Some respondents misreported their abortion as a miscarriage. Moreover, some variation in reporting was associated with respondents’ characteristics. Ethnic Estonians were less likely to report their abortion than were Russians, women over age 40 were less likely to report the abortion than younger women, and women who had the abortion late in the first trimester were less likely to report that abortion. There was some evidence that unmarried women were less likely than married women to report their abortion, and that women who had borne three or more children were less likely to report their abortion than women who had borne fewer children. These differences probably stem from the extent to which pregnancy or abortion is considered stigmatizing for women in different situations.
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This study was supported by NICHD Grants HD-19915 and P30 HD-10003 and by an All-University Research Initiation Grant from Michigan State University. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Boaard of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. The survey was conducted by the Department of Sociology of the Institute of Philosophy, Sociology, and Law of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, under the supervision of Rein Vöörmann. The authors acknowledge the encouragement and cooperation of Rein Veetõusme, Director of the Estonian Statistical Office; Dr. Vello Ilmoja, Vice Minister, Dr. Ene Tomberg, Counselor, and Dr. Helle Karro, Chief Gynecologist of the Estonian Ministry of Health; and the chief doctor of the hospital in Tallinn whose records were used to draw the sample. Thanks are due also to Elena Rybakova and Jaak Uueküla for their help in translating the questionnaires, to Nate Silver for help with the analysis, and to Paul Abramson, Susan Etter, Ada Finifter, Douglas Johnson, Edward Ponarin, and Martin Vaessen for helpful comments on an earlier version of the paper.
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Anderson, B.A., Katus, K., Puur, A. et al. The validity of survey responses on abortion: Evidence from Estonia. Demography 31, 115–132 (1994). https://doi.org/10.2307/2061911
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2061911