title: The Implications of Unintended Pregnancies for Mental Health in Later Life.
abstract: Despite decades of research on unintended pregnancies, we know little about the health implications for the women who experience them. Moreover, no study has examined the implications for women whose pregnancies occurred before Roe v. Wade was decided--nor whether the mental health consequences of these unintended pregnancies continue into later life. Using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, a 60-year ongoing survey, we examined associations between unwanted and mistimed pregnancies and mental health in later life, controlling for factors such as early life socioeconomic conditions, adolescent IQ, and personality. We found that in this cohort of mostly married and White women, who completed their pregnancies before the legalization of abortion, unwanted pregnancies were strongly associated with poorer mental health outcomes in later life.
authors.affiliation: Pamela Herd is with the La Follette School of Public Affairs and the Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jennifer Higgins is with the Department of Women's Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Kamil Sicinski is with the Center for Demography of Health and Aging, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Irina Merkurieva is a Lecturer in Economics, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Herd
authors.affiliation: Pamela Herd is with the La Follette School of Public Affairs and the Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jennifer Higgins is with the Department of Women's Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Kamil Sicinski is with the Center for Demography of Health and Aging, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Irina Merkurieva is a Lecturer in Economics, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.affiliation: Pamela Herd is with the La Follette School of Public Affairs and the Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jennifer Higgins is with the Department of Women's Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Kamil Sicinski is with the Center for Demography of Health and Aging, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Irina Merkurieva is a Lecturer in Economics, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland.
authors.forename: Kamil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sicinski
authors.affiliation: Pamela Herd is with the La Follette School of Public Affairs and the Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jennifer Higgins is with the Department of Women's Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Kamil Sicinski is with the Center for Demography of Health and Aging, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Irina Merkurieva is a Lecturer in Economics, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Merkurieva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned / Q000523:psychology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014922:Wisconsin