Psychological distress among women with recurrent spontaneous abortion.
Fifty-seven of 100 women with recurrent abortion completed questionnaires designed to assess demographic and reproductive variables, depression, anxiety, social desirability, self-esteem, locus of control, and marital adjustment. The results indicated that 32% of the women could be classified as depressed. The subjects also reported higher than average levels of acute and chronic anxiety. Fifty-three percent of the subjects reported below average marital adjustment. Post hoc analyses indicated that the women who had a previous elective abortion had higher levels of anxiety, lower marital adjustment, and different attributions regarding their pregnancy losses than the women who had not had an elective abortion. Having a living child was not a protective buffer against psychological distress.
Klock
S C
SC
Division of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Chang
G
G
Hiley
A
A
Hill
J
J
D000026:Abortion, Habitual / Q000523:psychology*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000523:psychology; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011247:Pregnancy