Summary
Among 215 women aborted by vacuum aspiration approximately 15 % experienced a difficult abortion decision; were quite anxious before and anxious and depressed after the abortion; and experienced a very painful abortion. Causal modeling indicated: being married was the dominant socio-demographic correlate of a difficult abortion decision which, in turn, predicted greater anxiety before the abortion. Higher anxiety before abortion interacted with inferior skill of the operator to increase pain experienced during the procedure. Increased postabortion anxiety resulted from the additive, independent effects of more pain during the procedure, greater anxiety before the abortion and a difficult decision to abort as well as previous nulliparity.
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Bracken, M.B. A causal model of psychosomatic reactions to vacuum aspiration abortion. Soc Psychiatry 13, 135–145 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00579327
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00579327