Overview
One of the most dramatic situations that an adolescent can experience is an unintended pregnancy and deciding what to do about it. These situations generally require counseling, both professional as well as informal, such as from trusted adults and peers. Yet, research that examines what adolescents do in these situations remains undeveloped, controversial, and marked by inconsistencies. The best research in the area focuses on basic statistics about the prevalence of pregnancies and abortions. Research on the outcomes of abortion has emerged, but much of it tends to not focus on adolescents. Commentaries relating to adolescents tend to focus on their rights, and little research has sought to understand how those rights are actually addressed in practice. Despite limitations in research, existing findings do reveal important findings that underscore the need for more research.
Prevalence of Abortions and Controversies
Unwanted pregnancies leading to abortions are common life...
References
Bellotti v. Baird. (1979). 443 U.S. 622.
Coleman, P. K. (2006). Resolution of unwanted pregnancy during adolescence through abortion versus childbirth: Individual and family predictors and psychological consequences. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 903–911.
Coleman, P. K. (2011). Abortion and mental health: Quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995–2009. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 199(3), 180–186.
Friedman, S. H., Hendrix, T., Haberman, J., & Jain, A. (2015). Judicial bypass of parental consent for abortion: Characteristics of pregnant minor “Jane Doe’s”. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 203(6), 401–405.
Geller, P. A., Kerns, D., & Klier, C. M. (2004). Anxiety following miscarriage and the subsequent pregnancy: A review of the literature and future directions. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 56, 35–45.
Gonzales v. Carhart. (2007). 550 U.S. 124.
Klier, C. M., Geller, P. A., & Ritsher, J. B. (2002). Affective disorders in the aftermath of miscarriage: A comprehensive review. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 5, 129–149.
Levesque, R. J. R. (2000). Adolescents, sex, and the law: Preparing adolescents for responsible citizenship. Washington: American Psychological Association.
Major, B., Appelbaum, M., Beckman, L., Dutton, M. A., Felipe Russo, N., & West, C. (2009). Abortion and mental health: Evaluating the evidence. The American Psychologist, 64(9), 863–890.
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. (1992) 505 U.S. 833.
Roe v. Wade. (1973) 410 U.S. 113.
Russo, N. F., & Denious, J. E. (2005). Controlling birth: Science, politics and public policy. Journal of Social Issues, 61, 181–191.
Sedgh, G., Henshaw, S., Singh, S., Ahman, E., & Shah, I. H. (2007). Induced abortion: Rates and trends worldwide. Lancet, 307, 1338–1345.
Sedgh, G., Finer, L. B., Bankole, A., Eilers, M. A., & Singh, S. (2015). Adolescent pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates across countries: Levels and recent trends. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(2), 223–230.
Steinberg, J. R., Trussell, J., Hall, K. S., & Guthrie, K. (2012). Fatal flaws in a recent meta-analysis on abortion and mental health. Contraception, 86(5), 430–437.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this entry
Cite this entry
Levesque, R.J.R. (2016). Abortion Counseling. In: Levesque, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_722-2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_722-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32132-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences