Post-Abortion Syndrome:

A Clarification of the Problem and Identification of Characteristics

***********

A Thesis

Presented to the Faculty

of

Greenville College

***********

Submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements

for

Departmental Honors in Psychology

by

Rachel A. Cliff

2001

Table of Contents

 

Abstract…………..…………………………………………………………………..4

 

Chapter 1

 

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..5

 

Chapter 2

 

Review of Literature…………………………………………………………………13

 

Factors in Post-Abortion Cases……………..…………………13

 

Finland Study Assessing Post-Abortion Effects……..……………………..29

 

Limitations of Research on Post-Abortion Effects…………………………32

 

Chapter 3

 

Research Proposal……………………………………………..….…………………39

 

Procedures…………………………………………………………………..40

 

Participant Selection…………………………………………………………42

 

Instrumentation………………………………………………………………42

 

Statistical Analysis………………………………………………………….44

 

Chapter 4

 

Discussion of Strengths and Weaknesses………………………………..………….46

 

Chapter 5

 

Implications…………………………………………………………………………..49

 

References………………………………………………………………..………….52

 

Appendix A………………………………………………………………..…………55

 

Appendix B…………………………………………………………………………..

 

Appendix C…………………………………………………………………………..

 

Appendix D…………………………………………………………………………..

 

Appendix E…………………………………………………………………………..

 

Appendix F……………………………………………………………………………

 

Appendix G……………………………………………………………………………

 

Acknowledgements

This paper and its vision can be credited in part to

my father,

who has taught me to seek the truth

and always love Jesus.

Most of all, I dedicate this paper to the

women who suffer daily

from the effects of abortion.

Preface

To better understand the context in which this paper was written, the reader should know the origin of my interest in this topic. In the past several years, I have worked on several projects centered on the abortion issue. My stance has always been pro-life and most of the information that I read and worked with shared this view. When preparing for this paper, I initially found it difficult when I came upon research that contradicted my beliefs about abortion. As the process continued, I began to see that to really help the women who are suffering after abortion, I need to present both sides of the issue and open my mind up to see the opposing view. I began to realize that not all women suffered from post-abortion syndrome. Some women adjust well post-abortion, and do not need further help to continue on with their lives. That was difficult for me to accept, since my firm belief was that no women could have an abortion and not suffer in some way from that experience. Working on this paper made me realize that research on any topic is not about finding what you want, but presenting all sides of an issue and contributing to the literature so that those that need help will receive it. Although I am sure that the following literature will be interspersed with my own bias, I have made a conscious effort to present both sides of this controversial topic.