Relationship between perceived stigma and depressive symptomatology in women who legally interrupt pregnancy in Mexico City

Abstract

Introduction. Although the international literature suggests that women who interrupt a pregnancy in safe conditions do not develop mental health problems, it continues to be a highly stigmatized issue by broad social sectors. It is therefore not surprising that abortion stigma is one of the main factors associated with the presence of mental health problems in women who abort voluntarily. This study explores the association between perceived abortion stigma and depressive symptomatology. Method. In a non-probabilistic convenience sample, 114 users of a Legal Interruption of Pregnancy Clinic in Mexico City were interviewed with a structured instrument. Results. Respondents obtained low scores of internalized stigma and reported feeling confident that they had made the right decision to terminate their pregnancies, and at peace with themselves. The highest scores for abortion stigma were reported in the group with high depressive symptomatology, with no statistically significant differences being observed due to the sociodemographic characteristics explored. The participants in this study were more concerned about what others might think about their decision to terminate a pregnancy and about how their abortion might affect their relationship with them. Discussion and conclusion. These concerns highlight the need to reduce the negative social stigma surrounding abortion and to provide interventions in the same direction among women who interrupt a pregnancy legally in order to reduce the risk of mental health problems such as depression.

Psychosocial profiles of women who legally terminated a pregnancy in Mexico City

“…Stigma has been described as the most significant predictor of depression both internationally (Biggs et al, 2020;Major et al, 2000;OʼDonnell et al, 2018;Steinberg et al, 2016) and nationally (Moreno López et al, 2019;Ramos-Lira et al, 2023). However, the results of this study coincide with the results of a qualitative study on women who underwent an LIP in Mexico City.…”

Perceived abortion stigma and psychological well-being over five years after receiving or being denied an abortion

“…Others have conceptualized abortion stigma more broadly to also include providers and other individuals involved in abortion [5,6]. Findings from cross-sectional studies have linked perceptions of abortion stigma with pre-abortion [7] and post-abortion psychological health [8].…”

Design and study of psychometric properties of the Community Attitude to Abortion Scale (CAAS) with the Chilean population: Autonomy and Stigma

“…Community attitudes towards abortion, global and relatively stable evaluations about the VIP and the woman who decides to abort manifested at a cognitive, affective, and/or behavioral level are an indicator of the potential structural, cultural and direct violence that society can exercise against women as a form of gender violence (Galtung, 1990;Kumar et al, 2009;Hessini, 2014). This violence affects women's mental, physical and reproductive health (American Psychological Association, 2008;Astbury-Ward et al, 2012;McMurtrie et al, 2012;Sorhaindo et al, 2014;Hanschmidt et al, 2016;Ramos, 2016;Mosley et al, 2017;Dides-Castillo and Fernández, 2018;O'Donnell et al, 2018;Moreno López et al, 2019). Therefore, it is essential to have an instrument with good psychometric properties to measure this construct.…”

“…The consequences of this treatment impact women in various ways (Hanschmidt et al, 2016). Those who perceive themselves as stigmatized manifest mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, stress, psychological distress, social withdrawal, avoidance behaviors, and somatic symptoms (American Psychological Association, 2008;O'Donnell et al, 2018;Moreno López et al, 2019). Added to this is that internalized stigma generates feelings of guilt and shame, factors that lead women to keep the practice of VIP a secret (Astbury-Ward et al, 2012;Sorhaindo et al, 2014), retract their decision (Ramos, 2016), or even expose themselves to unsafe (and illegal) methods to achieve it (McMurtrie et al, 2012;Mosley et al, 2017).…”