Uloga socijalne podrške u iskustvu abortusa: kvalitativna analiza ličnih izveštaja žena
The role of social support in the experience of abortion: a qualit ative study of women’s personal accounts

Summary/Abstract: Even though the experience of abortion is a relatively commonexperience among women in Serbia, personal accounts in relation to abortion arerarely examined. International findings show that having social support is crucialin coping with this experience. The main objective of this research was to examinethe ways in which women rely on social support and the ways in which this shapestheir experiences. After six semi-structured interviews with women who terminatedtheir first pregnancy, their personal accounts were analyzed using interpretativephenomenological analysis. The role of significant others remains important duringthe whole experience but with qualitative shifts throughout the phases. In theearliest phases, other people could be perceived as a double threat – they could causethe feeling of shame or be an obstacle in the pregnancy termination. During andafter the medical procedure, the need for social support becomes stronger and morecomplex, although in some cases it remains unmet. Most prominent social figuresare mothers and romantic partners. Participants with responsive and supportivesocial surroundings coped more easily than others whose support is nonexistent oroverly normalizing. Research contribution of this study is the analysis of personalaccounts of women who had abortion. Practical contribution is raisin awarenessof the importance of legitimization of complex and ambiguous feelings duringabortion, both by significant others and health psychologists.

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