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Adolescent Abortion and Parental Notification: Evidence for the Importance of Family Functioning on the Perceived Quality of Parental Involvement in U.S. Families
Author(s) -
GriffinCarlson Mary S.,
Schwanenflugel Paula J.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/1469-7610.00350
Subject(s) - psychology , religiosity , situational ethics , developmental psychology , abortion , perception , demographics , clinical psychology , social psychology , pregnancy , demography , genetics , neuroscience , sociology , biology
This study was an investigation of the relationship between family variables and the perceived quality of parental involvement following parental notification of an adolescent's decision to have an abortion. Demographics, family religiosity, and family functioning variables were examined. Pregnant adolescent clients from seven abortion clinics in three states completed a survey assessing their perception of the quality of parental involvement and the family variables. Only family functioning variables were significantly related to the perceived quality of parental involvement. Family adaptability (the family's ability to change its power structure, role relationships, and relationship rules in response to situational and developmental stress) was the most predictive. Adolescents from adaptable families had a more positive experience with parental involvement than adolescents from less adaptable families.