The Relationship between Childbearing Motivations and Attitude Toward Abortion among Married Men and Women

Relationships between positive and negative childbearing motivations and an abortion attitude index are examined among men and women from 401 married couples--half of whom had one child and half of whom were childless. A multivariate model tests for differences in these relationships, as well as in the association of the attitude index with personality traits, personal value systems and age, across both gender and parity groups. The results indicate that three of the four measures of negative childbearing motivation and one of the five measures of positive childbearing motivation are associated with a more accepting attitude toward abortion. These relationships are independent of the effects of personality, personal values and age, and are the same for both males and females and for respondents with no children and one child.The study population included 201 mostly White middle-class married couples residing in the San Francisco Bay Area in the US, who spoke English fluently and whose wife was aged 18-39 years and not currently pregnant. Spouses were interviewed separately and privately. The survey included questions on abortion decisions under specific circumstances and on the positive and negative motivations of childbearing: joys of pregnancy, traditional parenthood, satisfactions of childrearing, feeling needed, instrumental values of having children, discomforts of pregnancy, fears and worries of parenthood, negative aspects of child care, and parental stress. Demographic measures were religion, years of schooling, prestige in occupation, and income. The profile of respondents indicated a mean age of 31.6 years for husbands and 29.6 years for wives. Average educational attainment was 16.7 years for husbands and 15.9 years for wives. Average income was $45,900 for husbands and $25,700 for wives. 25% were Roman Catholic, 44% Protestant, and 21% nonreligious. 81% were Whites, 7% Asians, 5% Hispanics, and 2% Blacks. There were 7 options indicated for abortion. Greater acceptance was found among those who had had a previous abortion. In the least squares multiple regressions analysis, the findings indicated that there were no significant differences by parity and sex. There was support for the hypothesis that motivation to bear children was related to an unaccepting or restrictive attitude toward abortion. Negative motivations had a stronger effect on abortion attitudes. The implication was that those accepting abortion have as positive an attitude toward childrearing as those with restrictive abortion attitudes. Less restrictive or more open attitudes toward abortion were associated with lower scores on achievement and higher scores on affiliation, which would indicate a stronger orientation toward people and situations. Stronger ideological orientation would be reflected in those less accepting of abortion. Abortion acceptors scored lower on the childbearing scale with short-term impact (discomforts of pregnancy or joys of childbirth) and scored higher on long-term impact subscales. The suggestion was that counseling should focus on long-term consequences of childbearing, making certain the abortion seeker has not blown these factors out of proportion and has carefully considered the long-term effects, particularly adolescents.