Journal zyxwvuts of Social Issues, Vol. 48, No. zyxwvu 3, 1992, zyxwvut pp. 121-142 zyxwv Psychosocial Predictors of Adjustment to Abortion Brenda Major and Catherine Cozzarelli Stare University of New York at Buffalo Psychosocial factors that may serve as “risk factors” for the experience of short- term distress following induced abortion are reviewed. Factors found to be predictive of affective distress include blaming the pregnancy on one’s char- acter, low preabortion coping expectancies, low levels of perceived social sup- port from important others, and a difficult abortion decision. Social conflict over the abortion decision, the nature of the woman’s relationship with her partner, the coping strategies that she employs, her pre-pregnancy level of psychological functioning, and life events occurring subsequent to the abortion are also sug- gested as potentially important predictors of adjustment. Coping expectancies are proposed to be the most proximal and important predictor of short-term postabortion adjustment. Implications for clinical practice and public policy on abortion are discussed. zyxwvu Unwanted pregnancy terminated by induced abortion is experienced by a large number of American women. Approximately 21% of U.S. women of reproductive age have had a legal abortion (Forrest, 1987). Although unwanted pregnancy and the decision to abort are frequently perceived as stressful and conflicted, the best evidence to date suggests that most women do not experience severe negative reactions to abortion (Adler et al., 1990). Indeed, for most women, abortion appears to be psychologically benign, at least in the short term. This conclusion is based on the results of a number of studies using diverse samples, different measures of postabortion response, and different times of postabortion assessment. Nevertheless, results of clinical case studies as well as some empirical studies indicate that a small minority of women do experience negative psychological reactions such as guilt, anxiety, depression, and regret following abortion (Major, Mueller, zyxwv & Hildebrandt, 1985; Mueller & Major, Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Brenda Major, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14226. zyx 121 0022-4537/92/0900-0121$06 5011 zyxwvu 0 1992 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social IrTues