Individual-Level Abortion Stigma and Affecting Factors in Women with Abortion Experience

ABSTRACT Introduction: Women may decide to have an abortion for various reasons such as not wanting a child, maternal/fetal health problems, age, financial difficulties, family or partner pressure and lack of social support. Therefore, many women face psychological problems as a result of the individual-level abortion stigma they experience for sociodemographic and cultural reasons. Measuring individual-level abortion stigma is important in terms of preventing individual stigma and the health problems it may cause. Objective: This study aims to determine the individual-level abortion stigma and the factors affecting this situation in women with abortion experience. Method: The population of this cross-sectional study consisted of women who applied to the gynaecology and obstetrics outpatient clinic of a hospital. The sample consisted of 127 participants who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected using Personal Information Form and Individual Level Abortion Stigma Scale. Results: In the study, 77.2% of the participants were between the ages of 18-35, 89.0% had at least one living child, and 92.9% had 3 or less abortions. Among women, 95.3% of abortions were for medical reasons and 89.3% of these were due to fetal indication. The mean score of the Individual Level Stigma in Abortion Scale was 1.61±0.57. There was no significant relationship between socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics and scale score (p>0.05). Conclusion: The individual-level abortion stigma was found to be at a moderate level in women with abortion experience. Individual-level abortion stigma was found to be independent of individual and environmental factors. Keyswords: Abortion, Abortion Stigma, Individual Stigma.