ADOLESCENT DETERMINANTS OF ABORTION ATTITUDES: EVIDENCE FROM THE CHILDREN OF THE NATIONAL LONGITUDINAL SURVEY OF YOUTH

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 patt...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public opinion quarterly 2016, Vol.80 (1), p.66-89
Main Authors: PACHECO, JULIANNA, KREITZER, REBECCA
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abortion
Adolescents
Attitude surveys
Attitudes
Children
Children & youth
Mothers
Original
Political attitudes
Public opinion polls
Public opinion surveys
Religion
Religion & psychology
Religiosity
Respondents
Sex roles
Sexes
Stability
Studies
Values
Youth
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0033-362X
1537-5331
DOI:10.1093/poq/nfv050