Department of Psychology

Permanent URI for this community

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/60

Browse

Browsing Department of Psychology by Subject "Abortion -- Psychological aspects"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    After the act : women's experience of abortion in one South African community
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1999-07) Germann, Heidi; Kruger, Lou-Marie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Abortion is a universal phenomenon which has occurred in every society throughout history and which evokes extreme reaction. In South Africa, until the acceptance of the "Choice of Termination Act 92 of 1996", elective terminations were illegal. This qualitative study explores the various contexts that impact on and influence the meaning women attribute to their abortion experience. Six women who have undergone abortions and who now reside in the greater Cape Town area, South Africa, were recruited and interviewed about their abortion experience. A semi-structured interview schedule was used. Charmaz's (1990) social constructionist approach to grounded theory was utilized for data analysis. The premise of social constructionist theory is that the meaning of experiences is not universal, but actively constructed by people in specific contexts. The meanings are dependent on the context in which they are experienced. The findings suggest that a range of emotional responses follow abortion, but that women often feel very ambivalent about abortion. These responses are influenced by the different contexts in which they occur namely the legal, social, religious, gender and personal contexts. Recommendations for future abortion research are included.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Exploring the psychological sequelae of women who have undergone abortion : a multiple case-study approach
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2007-03) Tsilo, Mildred Madithole; Naidoo, Anthony V.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology.
    The South African government has legalised abortion with the intention of reducing deaths from clandestine and illegally performed abortions. With this Act came the freedom of choice regarding termination of pregnancies for most women who found themselves in the midst of unintended pregnancies and could not carry them to term. The aims of this study were to examine the process of decision making, the role of perceived support and women's psychological outcomes to abortion taking into consideration the accessibility to psychological interventions and mental stability prior to the procedure. Personal, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five women aged between 22 and 24 years who had legal, induced abortions within the first trimester of their pregnancies. Interviews were conducted within at least two months after the abortion had been performed. A qualitative analysis of the findings revealed that responses to abortion are influenced by the decision-making process, perceived social support, and the dynamics of the relationships in which the child is conceived. These factors play a vital role in the ultimate psychological outcome and adjustment to the abortion process. The women's responses involved negative and positive emotions towards the resolution of the unintended pregnancy. Negative emotions included among others, feelings of shame, embarrassment, guilt and sadness. These were associated with the loss. The predominantly expressed positive emotion was relief. The conclusion yielded was that the relationship between the two consenting adults is significant and it is influential in the decision making, perceived support and therefore the response to abortion.