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Abortion as stigma: cognitive and emotional implications of concealment
Abstract
This study examined the stigma of abortion and psychological implications of concealment among 442 women followed for 2 years from the day of their abortion. As predicted, women who felt stigmatized by abortion were more likely to feel a need to keep it a secret from family and friends. Secrecy was related positively to suppressing thoughts of the abortion and negatively to disclosing abortion-related emotions to others. Greater thought suppression was associated with experiencing more intrusive thoughts of the abortion. Both suppression and intrusive thoughts, in turn, were positively related to increases in psychological distress over time. Emotional disclosure moderated the association between intrusive thoughts and distress. Disclosure was associated with decreases in distress among women experiencing intrusive thoughts of their abortion, but was unrelated to distress among women not experiencing intrusive thoughts.
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“Studies involving members of other stigmatized groups have demonstrated that concealment is associated with intrusive thoughts, increased psychological distress, anxiety, and depression [59–61].”
From The Stigma of Suicide Survivorship and Related Consequences—A Systematic Review (2016) · cites this paper as [60]
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Meyer, I. H. (2003) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674 · Cited by 14,736
“…stigma, but it is a coping strategy that can backfire and become stressful (Miller & Major, 2000). a study of women who felt stigmatized by abortion, Major and Gramzow (1999) demonstrated that concealment was related to suppressing thoughts about the abortion, which led to intrusive thoughts about…”
BackgroundAntecedents and consequences of attributions to discrimination: Theoretical and empirical advances
Major, B., Quinton, W. J., & McCoy, S. K. (2002) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(02)80007-7 · Cited by 706
Self-citationRagins, B. R. (2008) · Academy of Management Review · doi:10.5465/amr.2008.27752724 · Cited by 666
Kassin, S. M., & Gudjonsson, G. H. (2004) · Gothic.net · doi:10.1111/j.1529-1006.2004.00016.x · Cited by 617
The Intimate Partner Violence Stigmatization Model and Barriers to Help Seeking
Overstreet, N. M., & Quinn, D. M. (2013) · Basic and Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/01973533.2012.746599 · Cited by 473
“Research on other concealable identities shows that concealing a stigmatized identity was related to thought suppression, which was related to more intrusive thoughts about the stigmatized identity, and consequently related to increased psychological distress (Major & Gramzow, 1999).”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Major, B., & Gramzow, R. H.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
- ORCID
- Major, Brenda
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 1999-10
- Volume
- 77
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 735-745
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W2049950431
- Cited by
- 378
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 6.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (7r01mh047989-05)
- National Institute of Mental Health (5R01MH47989)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Keywords
- abortion, stigma, concealment, secrecy, thought suppression, intrusive thoughts, emotional disclosure, psychological distress, women's mental health
- MeSH terms
- Abortion, Induced, Adult, Cognition, Emotions, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Social Adjustment, Stress, Psychological, Truth Disclosure
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