Open AccessAdolescent Determinants of Abortion Attitudes
Author(s) -
Julianna Pacheco,
Rebecca J. Kreitzer
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
public opinion quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.929
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1537-5331
pISSN - 0033-362X
DOI - 10.1093/poq/nfv050
Subject(s) - religiosity , abortion , psychology , developmental psychology , social psychology , demography , pregnancy , sociology , genetics , biology
The stability of abortion opinions suggests that pre-adult factors influence these attitudes more than contemporaneous political events. Surprisingly, however, we know little about the origins of abortion opinions, no doubt because the majority of research focuses on cross-sectional analyses of patterns across cohorts. We use a developmental model that links familial and contextual factors during adolescence to abortion attitudes years later when respondents are between 21 and 38 years old. Findings show that religious adherence and maternal gender role values are significant predictors of adult abortion opinions, even after controlling for contemporaneous religious adherence and the respondents' own views on gender roles. Adolescent religious adherence matters more than religious denomination for adult abortion attitudes. The results have important implications for future trends in abortion attitudes in light of declining religiosity among Americans.