Parent–Daughter Communication About Abortion Among Nonpregnant African-American Adolescent Females

Abstract

PurposeTo identify correlates of parent–daughter communication about abortion among nonpregnant adolescents. MethodsNonpregnant African-American females aged 14–17 years attending one of three charter schools on Chicago's South Side were recruited and surveyed regarding parental relationship quality, attitudes toward sexual health, and communication about sexual health. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) for ever discussing abortion using multivariable logistic regression. ResultsOf the 265 adolescents, 43.0% had ever discussed abortion with a parent. While 72.3% would voluntarily tell a parent about an abortion plan, 19.2% feared a parent would physically hurt her, punish her, or evict her. Ever communicating about abortion was significantly associated with having a mother who had a teen pregnancy (OR, 1.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05–3.78); having a prochoice abortion attitude (OR, 3.27; 95% CI, 1.29–8.25); having discussed sexually transmitted infections (OR, 2.97; 95% CI, 1.13–7.77) or birth control (OR, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.35–6.47) with a parent; and perceived parental approval of adolescent sexual activity (OR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.20–7.88). Ever communicating about abortion was inversely related to being sexually experienced (OR, .48; 95% CI, .23–.99) or anticipating supportive parental reactions to an abortion decision (OR, .31; 95% CI, .13–.75). ConclusionsAlthough almost half of our sample was sexually active, the majority had never talked to their parents about abortion. Some reported fears of harm should the situation arise. Public policy should focus on promoting parent–daughter communication before an unwanted pregnancy rather than forcing communication after it occurs.