Objective: To examine women's anxiety levels after elective abortion.
Design and setting: Women seeking elective abortion at six clinics in Japan were solicited to participate in a questionnaire survey.
Participants: Sixty-six Japanese women requesting abortion participated in this survey.
Main outcome measures: State anxiety was measured using Spielberger's State Trait Anxiety Inventory before and after abortion.
Results: Multiple regression analyses using predictor variables with a significant link to postabortion anxiety level showed that among potential predictors, a conservative attitude toward abortion was the most significant predictor of postabortion anxiety after controlling for the level of preabortion anxiety.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that a woman's attitude toward abortion and reproductive rights is an important but neglected factor influencing postelective abortion anxiety. Medical and nursing professionals should, therefore, take note of a woman's attitude toward abortion as a part of her mental health care.