t I
RELIGIOSITY AND ABORTION ATTITUDES AMONG COUPLES IN THE
EARLY STAGE OF THE FAMILY FORMATION PROCESS
BRUCE GRANGER
A Dissertation
Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
August 1980
Approved by Doctoral Committee
_Advisor Department of Sociology
Graduate College Representative h
ABSTRACT
The abortion issue has become deeply embedded in philosophical, moral,
and religious controversies. Competing social movements have emerged
around the problem, and public sentiment is clearly divided. Within the
context of increasing secularization within society, the central hypo
thesis of the present study holds that religiosity continues to be one
of the major social determinants of abortion attitudes and practices.
The present study replicates and extends previous research on the relation
ship between religiosity and abortion attitudes by using data collected
from couples in the early stages of family formation. The study further
tests for convergence among various subgroups of the population in
abortion attitudes, for the predictability of abortion attitudes by
religiosity when controlling for other social variables, and for the
separable and combined effects of predictor variables on abortion attitudes.
The data for the present study were derived from a survey of 610 married couples in the Toledo Metropolitan Area. Approximately one hundred continuously married couples, who were married for each year between 1972 and 1977, were selected. Separate scales for religiosity and abortion attitudes were developed. The dependent variable, abortion attitudes, was examined through use of two measures, the tolerance of abortion and the perceived disadvantages of abortion. The measure of religiosity was developed by means of factor analysis and consisted of a summated score which combined both attitudes and practices.
The analysis of the data revealed the persistence of differentials in abortion attitudes among subgroups of the population. Controls on the ///
level of religiosity failed to produce the hypothesized convergence in
abortion attitudes. Regardless of whether subjects were high or low in
religiosity, Catholics were more strongly opposed to abortion than were non
Catholics, and those with only a high school education or less were
lower in tolerance of abortion than the college educated. Wives
perceived greater disadvantages of abortion than their husbands,
and those with larger family size preferences were more opposed to
abortion than those favoring small families. Thus, the present study
failed to find support for the hypothesized convergence of abortion
attitudes among subgroups of ,the population when levels of religiosity
were held constant.
Through the use of a Multiple Classification Analysis, the results
indicated the central importance of religious identification in
differentiating abortion attitudes. Although the inverse relationship between religiosity and abortion attitudes was evident in the present
data, the distinction between Catholics and non-Catholics emerged as the major predictor of both the tolerance for and the perceived disadvantages of abortion. Thus, while other studies have noted that secularization
trends are promoting similarities in fertility values by religion by socioeconomic status, the present study suggests that these obser vations are not applicable to the realm of abortion attitudes among recently married couples in the Toledo Metropolitan Area. IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the many people who have helped to make this dissertation possible. I owe very special thanks to my advisor, Arthur Neal, for the many suggestions and comments which aided in the development of this study. I also extend my appreciation to the rest of my committee—Theodore Groat, Aida Tomeh,
Edward Stockwell, David Chilson, and Bruce Smith. A special thank you is also due Jon Johnston of Pepperdine University for originally influencing me into sociology and for his continual support throughout the years. I am also grateful for two people who have provided unconditional support and encouragement throughout my academic pursuits, my parents,
David and Esther Granger. Finally, I would like to render special thanks to my wife, Roberta Granger. Her unlimited patience, understanding, and staunch moral support were vital factors in bringing my efforts to a successful conclusion. V
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ...... 1
Religion and Abortion Attitudes ...... 4
Convergence Hypothesis ...... 5
Control Variables ...... 6
The Significance of the Study...... 10
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE...... 12
Historical Development of Abortion ...... 13
Religiosity and Abortion Attitudes ...... 18
Control Variables ...... 24
Religious Identification ...... 24
Gender...... 29
Education ...... 36
Family Formation ...... 41
Theoretical Perspectives ...... 45
Secularization Trend ...... 45
Rationality-Utility Model ...... 48
Convergence Hypothesis ...... 50
Summary...... 54
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY...... 56
Data for Analysis...... 56
Tolerance of Abortion Measure ...... 58
Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion Measure 61 Vi
Religiosity Measure...... 64
Religiosity Items and Abortion Attitudes ...... 67
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF DATA AND FINDINGS...... 71
Tolerance of Abortion ...... 72
Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion ...... 88
CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS...... 99
Limitations of the Study ...... 106
Suggestions for Future Research ...... 107
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 108
APPENDIX A 115 Vtl
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
I Mean Scores and Standard Deviations on Tolerance of Abortion Items Among Wives and Husbands...... 60
II Mean Scores and Standard Deviations of Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion Among Wives and Husbands...... 63
III Factor Loadings on Religiosity Items Among Non-Catholic Wives (N=238) and Husbands (N=356)...... 65
IV Factor Loadings on Religiosity Items Among Catholic Wives (N=330) and Husbands (N=261)...... 66
V Correlation Between Religiosity Items and Tolerance of Abortion Scale for Wives (N=610) and Husbands (N=610) ...... 68
VI Correlation Between Religiosity Items and Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion for Wives (N=610) and Husbands (N=610) ...... 69
VII Mean Scores on Tolerance of Abortion by Religious Identification, Education, Expected Family Size, and Parity for Wives and Husbands...... 73
VIII Mean Scores on Tolerance of Abortion by Religiosity, within Categories of Religious Identification, Education, Expected Family Size, and Parity Among Wives...... 77
IX Mean Scores on Tolerance of Abortion by Religiosity, within Categories of Religious Identification, Education, Expected Family Size, and Parity Among Husbands...... 81
X Multiple Classification Analysis of Wife’s Tolerance for Abortion Using Religious Identification, Education, Expected Family Size, Parity, and Religiosity as Independent Variables (Grand Mean=3.51) ...... 85 \/1»t
XI Multiple Classification Analysis of Husband’s Tolerance for Abortion Using Religious Identification, Education, Expected Family Size, Parity, and Religi osity as Independent Variables (Grand Mean=3.73)...... 87
XII Mean Scores of Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion by Religious Identification, Education, Expected Family Size, and Parity for Wives and Husbands...... 89
XIII Mean Scores of Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion by Religiosity, within Categories of Religious Identification, Education, Expected Family Size, and Parity Among Wives...... 92
XIV Mean Scores of Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion by Religiosity, within Categories of Religious Identification, Education, Expected Family Size, and Parity Among Husbands...... 95
XV Multiple Classification Analysis of Wife’s Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion Using Religious Identification, Education, Expected Family Size, Parity, and Religiosity as Factors (Grand Mean=.16) ......
XVI Multiple Classification Analysis of Husband's Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion Using Religious Identification, Education, Expected Family Size, Parity, and Religiosity as Factors (Grand Mean=.16) ...... 98 CHAPTER T
INTRODUCTION
Within the context of increasing secularization, the present study
will concentrate on the persisting social controversy about the accepta-
bility of abortion practices. The abortion issue has become deeply
embedded in philosophical, moral, and religious controversies. Competing
social movements have emerged around the problem, and public sentiment is
clearly divided. The present research will replicate and extend previous
research on the relationship between religiosity and the acceptability
of abortion practices. The central hypothesis holds that religiosity
is one of the major social determinants of abortion attitudes and prac
tices. The higher the level of religiosity, the greater the probability for holding negative attitudes toward abortion practices. Within this context, two of the broader theoretical issues are those which relate to the historical trend toward secularization and the convergence of fertility behavior among subgroups within the general population.
The historical trend toward secularization involves a liberali- zation process along with major changes in social standards and behavior.
While concerns with this historical trend were evident in the classical writings of Weber and Durkheim, popular interest in the secularization process was prompted by the writings of Harvey Cox (1966) in The Secular
City. Cox defined secularization as:
...the loosing of the world from religious and quasi- religious understanding of itself, the dispelling of all
1 2
closed world views, the breaking of all supernatural myths and sacred symbols... secularization occurs when man turns his attention away from worlds beyond and toward this world and this time (1966:2).
Cox observed widespread deemphasis upon the sacred and the emergence
of values related to rational choice and self interest. Durkheim had
earlier described the secularization process as one of movement from
"the sacred to the profane" (Durkheim, 1965), while Weber referred to
the shift from an emphasis on "tradition" to an emphasis upon "ration
ality" (Gerth and Mills, 1966).
As a part of secularization influences, the rational’'Utility'
model is becoming increasingly prominent in social science research.
This model suggests that individuals act in a rational manner when making
fertility related decisions by minimizing the costs and disadvantages
as well as maximizing the rewardsand benefits (Becker, 1960; Easterlin,
1969; Hawthorn, 1970; Luker, 1975; Scanzoni, 1975; Thorton, 1979). This model provides an explanation for the increasing acceptance of abortion
as one method of rationally controlling fertility.
One of the concomitants of the secularization trend is the conver gence of fertility practices among various subgroups within the population
(Westoff and Jones, 1979), The "convergence hypothesis" holds that previous differentials in fertility by religion and socioeconomic status are disappearing with the growing emphasis upon rational choice and preferences in family planning (Easterlin, 1969; Rindfuss and Sweet, 1977;
Ryder, 1973), the increased availability and effectiveness of contracep tive methods (Blake and Das Gupta, 1975), and the emerging values related to small family sizes (Coombs, 1979; Luker, 1975). Thus, fertility prac- 3
tices among subgroups of the population are becoming increasingly
congruent.
Of particular interest in studying fertility practices are religious
subgroups, specifically those consisting of Catholics and non-Catholics.
Historically, the Catholic Church has tended to dictate what was accept able and non-acceptable behavior in regard to abortion and birth control practices while non-Catholic churches have, on the whole, allowed more room
for personal discretion in this matter. The position of the Catholic
Church has traditionally been quite conservative, to the extent that many forms of birth control, and particularly abortion, were viewed as non acceptable. However, in the past several decades, the practices of
Catholics in regard to birth control have become increasingly congruent with those of non-Catholics (Westoff and Jones, 1977).
In the late sixties, as Catholics were increasingly emulating non
Catholics, the Humanae Vitae of 1968 was issued to clarify the Catholic
Church's position on birth, control. However, even after the Papal Ency clical, the percentage of Catholics who heeded the direction of the
Church was quite small (Whstoff and Jones, 1979). As they became modernized, Catholics wanted fewer children as did the majority of the population. The result was increasingly rational control of fertility on the part of Catholics.
Within this framework, the purpose of this research is to (1) deter mine the strength of the relationship between religiosity and abortion attitudes, (2) test for the convergence among various subgroups in the 4
population on abortion attitudes,and (.3) test the predictability of
abortion attitudes by religiosity when controlling for other social variables. The remaining sections of this chapter explain these purposes
in further detail.
Religion and Abortion Attitudes
One of the first studies to determine the relationship between religiosity and abortion attitudes was conducted by Finner and Gamache
(1969). The inverse relationship (i.e. the higher the religiosity, the lower the tolerance of abortion) which they found between the two varia bles was further supported in a similar investigation a few years later
(Clayton and Tolone, 1973). Both studies used a multidimensional reli giosity variable in their analyses. In the same context, Hertel (1974) and his associates found an inverse relationship between religiosity and abortion attitudes when comparing members of liberal and conservative denominations. The same relationship was also found in studies where frequency of church attendance was used as a measure of religiosity
(Balakrishnan, et al., 1972; Wagenaar and Knol, 1977).
Although studies have consistently supported the finding that as religiosity increases, the acceptance of abortion decreases, it is poss ible that the strength of the inverse relationship is lessening and religion may be found to have less impact on current abortion attitudes than has previously been found. This would suggest a greater degree of con gruence between various subgroups of the population (e,g., Catholics and non-Catholics; males and females). Convergence between subgroups; may be
^While convergence between two subgroups can be measured oven an extended period of time with longitudinal data, the present study measures the convergence at one point in time by- using cross-sectional data. 5
attributed to contemporary influences and increasing secularization.
Thus the present study analyzes the religiosity-abortion relationship
to determine if the inverse relationship exists among a particular sample
of recently married couples, and to investigate the possibility of
convergence between subgroups of the population.
Convergence Hypothesis
The convergence hypothesis holds that as fertility decisions come to
be shaped by secular values and rational choices, subgroups within the
population begin to share similar social characteristics relating to
fertility attitudes and practices. Increasing acceptance of abortion by
major segments of society can be seen as one instance of the impact of
secular values and rational decision-making upon a traditionally volatile
and divisive issue.
Although there is a strong secularization trend in society, the influ
ence of religiosity has continued to be a persistent force in shaping
individual attitudes, particularly toward such issues as abortion in
which moral and ethical considerations are intricately intertwined.
The conservative religious element of society has traditionally placed
a high value upon human life and has maintained that each human life is
unique and has inherent worth. While there has always been a segment of
society which has been identified as conservative, there has been a
recent upsurge In the trend toward fundamental religiosity. The growth of
the charismatic movement, the born-again movement, and the vocal support
of prominent members of society for the beliefs of these groups is evidence
of the impact of religion within society (Colson, 1976; Glock and Bellah,
1976; Kelley, 1972). 6
Thus, the conflict between the influence of religion as opposed
to the influence of secularization trends is an important dimension to
consider in assessing possible convergence between subgroups of the popu
lation on attitudes toward abortion. Groups which have traditionally
held dissimilar positions on the abortion issue due to religious and
social influences may be becoming increasingly similar in their attitudes
toward abortion due to the effects of secularization. At the same time, however, the recent upsurge of strong religious movements and anti abortion sentiment may have served to solidify the positions of various subgroups, allowing them to maintain more conservative positions within a secularized society. This study will examine the degree to which specific subgroups (i.e. Catholics and non-Catholics; males and females) are converging in their abortion attitudes by determining the degree to which they hold similar or dissimilar attitudes at this point in time.
Control Variables
In the present study, several control variables have been used to analyze further the relationship between religiosity and abortion atti tudes. These variables are religious identification, gender, education, and family formation.
Religious identification in abortion research has traditionally been divided into either a Protestant/Catholic division or a Catholic/non-
Catholic division. Historically, Catholics have been more conservative in their attitudes toward abortion than the non-Catholics (Balakrishnan, et al., 1972; Blake, 1971; Hedderson, et al., 1974; McIntosh and Alston,
1977). While this finding continues to be prevalent in the research literature, there are studies which suggest that changes in this relation- 7
ship are occurring. First, the differences in attitudes toward abortion
due to religious identification have been narrowing (Arney and Trescher,
1976; McIntosh and Alston, 1977; Tedrow and Mahoney, 1979). Second, Cath
olic women who have had an abortion have not been found to differ from the
non-Catholics in socioeconomic factors (Leon and Steinhoff, 1975). Third,
in some situations, the degree of religiosity has been found to be more
important than denominational affiliation (Finner and Gamache, 1969) .
These changes surrounding the religious identification variable make the
exploration of this control variable relevant. The present study, there
fore, examines the religious identification differences in the context of abortion attitudes.
The gender comparison provided in this study is of interest for several reasons. First, the cost and benefit factors surrounding the abortion decision differ for wives as opposed to husbands suggesting that attitudes surrounding the abortion issue also may differ for males and females. Women must personally deal with both the physical and emotional trauma of either having an abortion or giving birth; men are not as directly involved with either. Not only must the woman consider the psychological and physical consequences which may be associated with abor tion, but she must consider the social and vocational implications as well.
The working woman who is pregnant must weigh the costs and benefits of bearing a child with the costs and benefits of having an abortion. For the wife, pregnancy may mean disruption of her career and restrictions upon her social activities, although this is not always the case. The husband, however, faces less risk of his wife’s pregnancy interfering with his 8
vocational plans. The directness of the impact of pregnancy and abortion
upon the wife, as opposed to the more indirect impact upon the husband,
suggests that the cost/benefit factor differs for wives and husbands and
thus suggests that there may be gender differences in attitudes toward
abortion which may persist for some time.
Second, along with presumably changing sex roles, research
literature has also reported a degree of convergence in sex role attitudes
(Tomeh, 1979). In her book The Family and Sex Roles, Tomeh (1975) suggested
that convergence in sex role orientations has occurred as a result of indus
trialization, the presence of women in the labor force, women's movements which have pressed for greater equality of rights, and social trends which
emphasize a greater utilization of women in business, government, and the military. Thus, just as sex roles are converging in some areas, it seems reasonable to expect that there is presently a growing degree of similarity between males and females in their abortion attitudes.
Previous research examining gender differences in abortion attitudes has yielded conflicting results. Some studies report that women are more accepting of abortion than men (Hendershot and Grimm, 1974; Blasi, et al., 1975), while other findings support just the opposite (Blake, 1971;
Clayton and Tolone, 1973; Finner and Gamache, 1969; Rao and Bouvier, 1974;
Tedrow and Mahoney, 1979). There are also studies which report no signi ficant differences between the two groups in relationship to abortion attitudes (Hertel, et al., 1974; Wagenaar and Knol, 1977; McIntosh and
Alston, 1977). Some of the discrepancies in the research findings could be attributed to attitude changes which are occurring over time. One of 9
the most recent studies, conducted by Tedrow and Mahoney (19791 has
demonstrated that men tend to be only slightly more tolerant of abortion
than women, which suggests that males and females may be becoming more
similar in their attitudes toward abortion.
Thus, in order to facilitate examination of gender differences in
attitudes toward abortion, separate analyses of the data by wives and husbands will be provided. Although the gender differential is not the primary focus of this study, it is an interesting and important dimension
to consider when looking at abortion attitudes in any context.
Education has played a significant role in influencing abortion attitudes. The most prominant finding regarding education and abortion attitudes is the direct positive relationship between the two (Blake,
1971; Balakrishnan, et al., 1972; Hedderson, et al., 1974; Jones and Westoff,
1972; McIntosh and Alston, 1977; Tedrow and Mahoney, 1979). Although education has traditionally been positively correlated with abortion attitudes, several studies have reported contrary findings (Arney and
Trescher, 1976; Finner and Gamache, 1969), The present study attempts to examine the education variable among wives and husbands in the context of abortion attitudes to see if a positive relationship between the two variables continues to exist, or whether there are no educational differ ences.
Contemporary changes within the family unit have led to a poten tially greater role for abortion as part of the family formation process.
As changes within society have put increasing pressure on the American family to limit the number of children, the trend toward smaller families has resulted in a greater acceptance of abortion (Richardson and Fox, 1972; 10
Renzi, 1975). Because In the past society had favored larger families
(.Blake, 1974), the present trend toward fewer children continues to be
of extreme importance in assessing attitudes toward abortion practices
for controlling family size.
To operationalize the family formation variable, desired family
size and actual parity are used to assess family size preferences. Along
with this variable, each of the control variables described above (i.e.
religious identification, gender, and education) provides a format
for discussing the relationship between religiosity and abortion attitudes.
The data for the present study were derived from a survey of 610 married
couples in the Toledo, Ohio, Metropolitan Area. The computerized marriage
records of Lucas County were used to randomly select married couples from a four-year period (.1972-1975). Since marriage records for 1976 and 1977 were unavailable on magnetic tape, the samples for those years were drawn
from the original records. Approximately one hundred couples, who were married for each year between 1972 and 1977, were selected. The sample was limited to continuously married whites who were still living in the
Toledo area at the time of the survey. The data were collected between
July, 1978 and February, 1979 by interviewers who supervised the filling- out of questionnaires. Parallel information was obtained separately from wives and husbands.
The Significance of the Study
This study will compare the significance of religiosity, along with other social variables, as a predictor of abortion attitudes. Ongoing social changes in society have resulted in it being necessary for the institution of religion to adjust with the times. Assuming that the 11
role of religion has changed over time, as has the role of other social insitutions such as the family and the educational system, it is important to continue to examine its power as a predictor of attitudes toward abortion
Along with exploring the role of religion, this research will pro vide information about recent trends in abortion attitudes. Investi gation of abortion attitudes over the past two decades has revealed a gradual increase in acceptance of abortion (Arney and Trescher, 1976;
Blake, 1971). Society's tolerance of abortion increased most dramatically as a result of the 1973 Supreme Court decisions. An updated assessment of abortion attitudes will allow continual monitoring of the degree of acceptance among various population subgroups. Specifically, the present study expands the research literature on abortion attitudes among couples in the early stages of family formation. Monitoring these attitudes will provide information which may be useful for social scientists and those involved in social policy-making. CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
A review of the literature related to attitudes toward abortion
must include a discussion of the historical development of abortion
attitudes as well as the various social variables which have been in
fluential in their formation. During the last two decades, the his
torical trend of abortion attitudes in the United States has been one
of liberalization. The Supreme Court decisions of 1973, which defined
a more liberal legal status for abortion than had previously been held
have resulted in pervasive changes in abortion attitudes in the United
States. These decisions have also continued to provoke heated debate
and controversy.
One of the social variables which is a central factor in the on
going abortion debate is religion. The religious dimension, along
with the control variables (i.e., religious identification, gender,
education, and family formation), is important in assessing attitudes
toward abortion, and will be the primary focus of the following litera
ture review. The relationships between religion, abortion, and the
control variables can be understood in the context of a secularization
trend, a rational-utility model, and a convergence hypothesis. These
perspectives provide a basis for understanding the impact of the variables upon attitudes toward abortion. The present study reviews
those studies which reflect abortion attitude changes, both before
and after the 1973 Supreme Court decisions.
12 13
Historical Development of Abortion
Judith Blake’s article, "Abortion and Public Opinion: The 1960
1970 Decade" (1971), assessed the opinions of Americans toward abortion
prior to the attitude-fluctuating period of the seventies. Her sample
was drawn from five Gallup polls taken during the period of 1962 and
1969, as well as from the National Fertility Study of 1965. Her find
ings revealed that when individuals were questioned regarding the four
conditions under which the legalization of abortion could occur (i.e.,
health conditions, deformity of the child, no money for raising the
child, and desiring no more children), there was a noticeable decrease
from 1962 to 1969 in the percentage of men and women who disapproved
of the legalization of abortion for the conditions listed above (1971:541).!
After studying religious identification, education, and sex as control
variables, Blake’s findings debunked the myth that abortion is supported
most strongly by the less advantaged and by women (1971:548). She
found legalized abortion to be supported most strongly by the "non
Catholic, male, and well-educated" (1971:548). Her conclusion showed
that the educated, especially males, were influential in liberalizing
^Attitudes toward abortion have traditionally been measured by an evaluation of specific conditions under which an abortion is approved or disapproved (De Boer, 1977). The formation of an abortion scale based on the varied conditions can range from four to nine items. These items can be dichotomized into ’hard’ reasons and ’soft’ reasons. The hard reasons are represented by abortion conditions related to health reasons beyond the control of the mother; the soft reasons involve those situations in which the mother may have a willful decision regard ing the abortion. All of the research studies presented in this section, except for one, have utilized the hard-soft measures of abortion attitudes. A more detailed review of measures of abortion attitudes is included in Chapter III. 14
social policy regarding abortion.
Evidence of liberalization of abortion attitudes can also be found
in Elise Jones and Charles Westoff's article "Attitudes Toward Abortion
in the United States in 1970 and the Trend Since 1965" (1972). Jones
and Westoff compared the data collected from the 1965 and 1970 National
Fertility Study dealing with attitudes toward abortion. The index
used to measure abortion attitudes included three more conditions (i.e., woman is not married; woman has been raped; woman wants an abortion for
any reason), than Blake had used in analyzing her findings (Jones and
Westoff, 1972:571). Over the five year period, they found a fourteen to twenty per cent increase in all but one of the categories regarding the acceptance of abortion. From this article, one may draw the con clusion that a substantial shift toward more permissive attitudes regarding abortion had emerged.
On January 22, 1973, there were two monumental Supreme Court de cisions which clarified and liberalized the position toward abortion in the United States. In the court case of Roe v. Wade, the court ruled that during the first trimester of the pregnancy1, "...the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgment of the pregnant woman’s attending physician,” which was to take place in consultation with the pregnant woman (Tietze, 1979:8). The ruling went - on to state that after the first trimester "...the state...may, if it chooses, regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health" (Tietze, 1979). In the third trimester, once the fetus has reached viability, "...the State...may, if it chooses
...proscribe abortion except where necessary... for the preservation of 15
the life or health of the mother" (Tietze, 1979:8). The second court
case of Doe v. Bolton struck down several earlier rulings which had pre
viously made the procurement of an abortion more difficult. The more
lenient position following the Supreme Court’s ruling provided a major
shift in position on the abortion issue.
The Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions have dramatically
altered the number of abortions that have been performed in this country.
It has been estimated that over one million abortions have been performed
in the United States each year since the Supreme Court’s decision (Tietze,
1979; Schaeffer and Koop, 1979).
Following the 1973 Supreme Court decisions, William Arney and William
Trescher (1976) analyzed the trends in attitudes toward abortion from
1972 to 1975. Their primary purpose was to test abortion attitudes both
before and after the Supreme Court’s rulings. Data from the University
of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC), which also incor
porated the six items from the conditional abortion scale, were collected
between 1972 and 1975. The authors noted two significant changes in
relation to abortion attitudes over the four years studied (1976:118-119).
The first change was the increased acceptance of abortion for all six
reasons; this implies that there were fewer people who did not approve
of abortion under any circumstance. The second change was if "mother’s health" was accepted as a reason for an abortion, the other two hard
reasons (rape and child defect) were also accepted. If an individual
accepted one of the soft reasons (e.g., poor, single, and no money),
approval was granted for all six reasons. In spite of the above changes,
there continued to be a group which unequivocally opposed abortion 16
in all circumstances. Even though this group was small in number, it
constituted a specific social position.
Although Arney and Trescher found a substantial increase in accept
ance of abortion attitudes for the first two months following the Supreme
Court's 1973 decisions, they found that two months after the decisions,
"approval did not continue to increase between 1973 and 1975" (1976:118).
Thus, although the court's decisions appear to have had an immediate
impact on abortion acceptance in 1973, major shifts in acceptance
trends did not continue to occur in the first few years following the
initial decision.
A study which expanded Arney and Trescher's work was conducted by
Lucky Tedrow and E. R. Mahoney (1979). Their article, "Trends in
Attitudes Toward Abortion: 1972-1976," was a review and extension of
the same data used in the previous study. Tedrow and Mahoney contended
that Arney and Trescher's article "...actually disguised rather than
revealed important trends in abortion attitudes" (1979:182). Tedrow
and Mahoney's criticism stemmed from the exclusion in the earlier study
of a complete pool of respondents for each year in the analysis. They
suggested that a complete pool of respondents is necessary for a valid
analysis. They found the following:
The overall trend in attitudes toward abortion for the 1972-1976 period shows an increase in approval for each of the six reasons for an abortion...and that between 1972 and 1976 there was an increase in approval of three percentage points for each of the traditionally 'hard'reasons (HEALTH, RAPE, and DEFECT) and an increase of three, six, and six per centage points respectively for the 'soft' reasons (POOR, SINGLE, and NO MORE) (Tedrow and Majoney, 1979:183).
The most interesting trend is that all six items reached their "apex 17
in approval in either 1973 or 1974, after which a decline between 1974
and 1975 was experienced for all items" (1979:183). Tedrow and Mahoney’s
analysis concurred with the findings of the earlier study in that the
1973 decisions by the Supreme Court resulted in increased acceptance of
abortion during that year, while data from the following two years did
not support as liberal a trend in acceptance. It is obvious that the
1973 surge in acceptance of abortion is explained by the rulings of the
Supreme Court. One explanation of the ensuing decline in acceptance
of abortion may be that people realized that attitudes toward abortion
continued to be based on personal conviction rather than social legis
lation and consequently reconsidered their position, sometimes returning
to the conservative values originally held.
A study by Forrest and associates (1979:337) of legal abortions
performed from 1973 to 1977 revealed findings similar to those of
Tedrow and Mahoney. Abortion rates in 1977 did not change significantly
from the previous several years, except for women in the age category
of twenty to twenty-four. The abortion rate among these women was higher
for 1977 than in any previous year. The increase in abortion among
women in the early twenties may in part be a result of their attempt to
fulfill career aspirations prior to child-bearing, or to delay births
until later in marriage.
Since the 1973 Supreme Court rulings, one of the most important
social variables which has been discussed in connection with abortion
has been religion. The value of life, which is so central to the
abortion issue, has traditionally been the theme that has resulted in most religious groups occupying a conservative position. Since the 1973 18
ruling, the increased acceptance of abortion by the larger society has
resulted in resistance of the acceptance trend by socio-religious factions.
However, the significance of religiosity as a predictor of abortion
attitudes has changed as secularization in society has increased.
Within this context it is important to review the literature which
directly relates to the ongoing significance of religiosity as a
predictor of abortion attitudes.
Religiosity and Abortion Attitudes
There have been several studies which have analyzed the relationship
between religiosity and abortion attitudes (Balakrishnan, et al., 1972;
Blasi, et al., 1975; Clayton and Tolone, 1973; Finner and Gamache, 1969;
Hertel, et al., 1974; Wagenaar and Knol, 1977). Each of these studies
has incorporated religiosity as the independent variable with abortion
attitudes being the measured dependent effect. The measures of religiosity have included objective (behavioral) as well as subjective (attitudinal)
dimensions.
In their article "The Relation Between Religious Commitment and
Attitudes Toward Induced Abortion," Finner and Gamache (1969) conducted
the first study of its kind in which they analyzed the relationship of multi-dimensional measures of religiosity with attitudes toward abortion.
The authors used as their independent variable five multi-dimensional measures which were derived from an earlier 1965 study by Glock and Stark
(i.e., belief, knowledge, self-definition, effects and ritualistic be havior). For the dependent variable, the researchers determined the
conditions under which abortion was accepted with a seven-item scale
similar to the six-item condition scale discussed earlier. 19
The findings of Finner and Gamache revealed that certain aspects of
the multi-dimensional religiosity scale were directly related to abortion 2 attitudes. The "religious effects" dimension and the "total religious
commitment" scale (i.e., a combination of the five measures) were signifi
cantly related to attitudes toward induced abortion. The findings sug
gest that these two dimensions of religiosity are better predictor
variables of abortion attitudes than the other dimensions considered.
Their study was important in that it established the empirical relationship
between subjective measures of religiosity and abortion attitudes.
A weakness of the Finner and Gamache study is the low correlation
coefficients upon which their analysis is based. All of the religious
dimensions which were correlated with abortion attitudes resulted in low
correlation coefficients, which were statistically insignificant, except
for the "religious effects" dimension and the "total religious commitment"
scale which also had low correlation coefficients but were statistically
significant.
Richard Clayton and William Tolone (1973) felt that the conclusions
which Finner and Gamache (1969) had reached were not conclusive and that
the "religious effects" variable was not the best predictor variable of the
five dimensions. Clayton and Tolone decided to reexamine the "ideological"
variable, which Finner and Gamache had found to be one of the weakest
variables, to see if in fact there was a relationship between the
ideological dimension and abortion attitudes. After sampling college
2 'The authors defined the direct relationship as "...those persons who are more religious, i.e., score high on each of the dimensions, will ex press more restrictive attitudes toward induced abortions" (1969:2). 20
students from three colleges, they found that indeed a significant inverse
relationship existed between religiosity, as measured by the ideological
dimension, and abortion attitudes. Clayton and Tolone found their zero
order correlations to be higher than those of the earlier study (1973:30).
There are two comparisons which can be drawn between the study by
Clayton and Tolone and the earlier study by Finner and Gamache.
First, the latter study analyzed college-age students while the earlier
one concentrated on middle-aged, married, high school graduates. It is
likely that differences in the composition of the two groups influenced
the findings of the two studies. The second comparison concerns the
treatment of the dependent variable. Finner and Gamache analyzed
abortion altitudes in the form of a total attitudinal scale while
Clayton and Tolone used a multi-dimensional scale format which they
felt provided a more elaborate treatment of abortion attitudes.
An implication drawn from Clayton and Tolone’s research was the
transition from abortion being classified as a deviant act to one which reflects an individual preference. The authors cited their own work and findings from the Gallup Poll and the Opinion Research Corporation as indicative of a major shift away from abortion being viewed as a deviant act (1973:38). With the liberalization process taking place, the authors suggested that "...what remains for future research is a more nearly complete exploration of the relationship between the multi dimensions of religiosity with those of abortion" (Clayton and Tolone,
1973:38).
A sample of married women in Metropolitan Toronto was used by another team of investigators, (Balakrishnan, et al., 1972), to assess 21
the relationship between a religious factor and abortion attitudes.
Their analysis of abortion included a nine-item condition scale of hard
and soft reasons, with the religious factor being measured by religious
identification and frequency of church attendance. The results of
their study revealed that religious identification and religiosity
(i.e., as measured by church attendance) were the two best predictive
measures of abortion attitudes among the nine socioeconomic variables
that were considered. These two variables, religious identification
and religiosity, accounted for twenty-three per cent of the variance
in the abortion index while all nine of the variables together accounted
for only thirty-one per cent of the total variance (1972:42).
A research report which related the liberal and conservative aspects
of nurses and social workers regarding religiosity and abortion attitudes
was conducted by Hertel, Hendershot, and Grimm (1974). Their report
offers additional support for the influence of religious identification
and religiosity on attitudes toward abortion. Abortion attitudes were measured with a six-item conditional scale while the religious factor was measured by religious identification and frequency of church attendance.
There were three significant findings in their study. First, "...members of liberal Christian denominations were more likely than members of conservative denominations to approve of abortion" (1974:23). This supported the notion that the religious identification variable, as a predictor of abortion attitudes, only derives significance as it reflects the doctrinal, theological, and social position of the denomination. If a denomination occupies a conservative position—doctrinally, theologically, and socially'—it is probable that members will assume a similarly ; 22
conservative position on such issues as abortion. Conversely, members of
liberal denominations will be more likely to reflect a liberal position on
abortion.
The second finding was that among both conservatives and liberals
the frequent church attenders were less likely to approve of abortion
(1974:32). This appears to be consistent with the notion that religious
involvement, whether in a conservative or liberal denomination, reflects
an internalization of religious values. The final conclusion of Hertel
and his associates (1974:32) was that when compared with other social
variables, religion, as measured by denomination and frequency of attendance
at religious services, was more closely related to abortion attitudes than
any of the other social variables (e.g., sex, race, age, profession,
occupational prestige of household head).
Religiosity, as defined by frequency of church attendance, was also
found to be a significant predictor of abortion attitudes when 1972 NORC
data were used (Hedderson, et al., 1974). Hedderson and his associates
found that religiosity strongly increased the opposition to abortion for both gender and religious identification, with the religiosity effect being strongest among Catholics. These findings lend further support to
the notion that religiosity is inversely related to attitudes toward abortion.
Another study by Anthony Blasi, Peter MacNeil, and Robert O’Neil
(1975) concentrated on Catholic college students to determine the relation ship between religiosity and abortion attitudes. Their measure was different from previous scales in that the emphasis was on kinds, rather than degrees, of religiosity. Kinds of religiosity were dichotomized 23
into a 'pre-vatican* position and a ’post-vatican' position. The pre-vatican
position represented a conservative position while the post-vatican position
represented a liberal position. Attitudes toward abortion were measured
by either a pro-abortion position or anti-abortion position. Their con
clusions were similar to other findings in that a conservative religiosity
was found to be associated with a non-liberal attitude toward abortion.
Wagenaar and Knol (1977), in analyzing 1973 and 1975 NORC data,
evaluated the impact of the religious factor on abortion attitudes
using three variables: affiliation, ideology (belief in after life),
and commitment (attendance at religious services) (1977:935). Based on
religious affiliation, the Catholics were less approving of abortion
than the non-Catholics. Although Catholics fall behind non-Catholi'cs in
acceptance of abortion, there is evidence of a trend toward growing
acceptance within the Catholic denomination.
The second variable of their study, a subjective measure of
religiosity (religious ideology), found that ”...persons believing in
life after death are significantly less supportive of abortion than those
without such a belief” (1977:935). Although this difference narrowed
between 1973 and 1975, there is continued support that those who believe
in an after-life continue to hold stronger antiabortion attitudes than
those who do not expect life after death.
The third religiosity variable Wagenaar and Knol considered was the
frequency of attendance at religious services, which was inversely related
to the acceptance of abortion (1977:936). Based on Wagenaar and Knol’s
findings and the studies summarized above, it can be concluded that religiosity does significantly influence attitudes toward abortion. 24
The predominant theme of the six studies discussed above is that
there continues to be an important relationship between religiosity and
abortion attitudes. Even though a host of measures has been used to
evaluate both religiosity and abortion attitudes, an inverse relationship
has consistently been found between the two variables. With the literature
overwhelmingly supporting the inverse relationship, the present study will
reevaluate these variables in light of increasing secularization.
Control Variables
The present study analyzes the relationship between religiosity and
abortion attitudes when controlling for religious identification, gender,
education, and family formation. A review of the literature related to the
control variables and attitudes toward abortion is presented below.
Religious Identification
The majority of studies which have assessed abortion attitudes in relation to a religious factor have used denominational affiliation as a means of comparison. The two largest and most frequently used comparison groups are Catholics and Protestants. Although there are diverse sub groups within each of these denominations, the distinctive differences between these two denominations as a whole continues to warrant a compari son between them. Traditionally, these comparisons have been conceptualized in terms of Catholic and non-Catholic differences. In the present study,
"religious identification" will be operationalized along the traditional lines of the Catholic, non-Catholic distinction. The non-Catholic category is, in effect, a residual one which combines a wide range of denominational beliefs and practices. Since many of the studies reviewed in the "religiosity and abortion attitudes" section also considered 25
differences by religious identification, a review of these findings is
provided below.
The predominant findings in the research literature regarding religious
identification is that Catholics are not as liberal in their abortion
attitudes as the non-Catholics. While many studies have reached this
conclusion (Arney and Trescher, 1976; Balakrishnan, et al., 1972; Blake,
1971; Finner and Gamache, 1969; Hedderson, et al., 1974; Hertel, et al.,
1974; Leon and Steinhoff, 1975; Tedrow and Mahoney, 1979), the conditions surrounding these findings are varied. Blake (1971) found that the
Catholics were more inclined to disapprove of abortion than the non
Catholics, although differences were slight. Her work suggested that the narrow margin between the two groups implied that Catholics were not heeding the direction of the Church relating to abortion.
In 1971, Joseph Leon and Patricia Steinhoff (1975) conducted a study of women in Hawaii in which two groups, selected from hospital records, were compared. One group had had abortions and the other group had carried their pregnancies to full term (1975). When religious identification was considered, the "Catholics were found to have chosen abortion less often than non-Catholic women" (1975:125). The authors' conclusion was that Catholics are less likely to use abortion as a birth control method than non-Catholics.
Another finding of their study was that "when those Catholic women who did use abortion were compared with their non-Catholic counterparts, few differences were found. The two groups did not differ in age, marital status, education or income" (1975:135). The similarities they found suggest that as convergence between the two groups occurs in various 26
social categories, there is a similar trend in abortion attitudes and
other fertility-related behavior. Although the convergence pattern was
observed by Leon and Steinhoff, they concluded that a religious identifi
cation difference continues to exist.
Balakrishnan and his associates (.1972) also reported that religious
identification played a significant role in abortion attitudes. By using
a multiple classification analysis procedure, attitudes toward abortion and nine socioeconomic variables were considered along with religion and religiosity. They found that religious identification was one of the two strongest predictors (i.e., the other being religiosity) of abortion attitudes
In a study of nurses and social workers’ attitudes regarding abortion,
Hertel and his associates found that religious identification made a signi ficant difference. This finding was based on the classification by denomi nation into a liberal (i.e., strong acceptance of abortion) and a conservative
(.i.e., a weak acceptance of abortion) dimension in which the liberal denomina tions reflected a greater acceptance of abortion than the conservative denominations.
A similar distinct religious identification difference in abortion attitudes was supported when using 1972 NORC data (Hedderson, et al.,
1974). Hedderson and his associates found both Catholic males and females to have higher mean scores on a six-point anti-abortion scale than the non
Catholics. Although they found distinct differences by religious identifi^- cation, they also concluded that the differences between the two groups were less than had been noted in previous research (1974:273-274). The researchers concluded that the power of religious identification as a predictor of abortion attitudes has decreased and suggested that education 27
and religiosity were better predictor variables.
Arney and Trescher (.1976) found that after comparing the abortion
attitudes over a four-year period (.1972-1975), a salient differential still
remained between Catholics and Protestants. The authors noted a decrease
in resistance to abortion among both religious groups during the early
197O’s. However, they found that in the years following the 1973 Supreme
Court decisions, there was an apparent reversion in the opinions of church
going Catholics (1976). Their data suggest that abortion attitudes have
fluctuated for both religious groups during the decade of the 197O’s.
E. Patricia McCormick (1975) conducted a survey in 1971 in which she
sampled women who had had an induced abortion. Her conclusions regarding
religious identification, (i.e., trichotomized into Baptist, Catholic,
and other) were varied. When comparing the religious identification of
women willing to resort to abortion as a solution to future contraceptive
failures, she found Catholics to be more favorable toward abortion than
the other two groups (1975:59). However, when variables such as ’use of
abortion as a birth control’ and ’consider a future abortion' were analyzed,
she found that Catholic women responded less favorable than affiliates
of other religious groups (1975:60).
The apparent contradictory findings in the McCormick study are an
indication of several weaknesses which make interpretations difficult. The
religious identification variables do not allow an adequate comparison of
religious groups. The Baptist denomination, which she singles out, is only one subgroup of the larger Protestant classification. All other Protestant denominations are placed in the ’’others" religious affiliation category.
Baptists are not necessarily representative of the total Protestant 28
denomination, but generally tend to be more conservative than other Protes
tant groups. Another weakness: of the study is that only 200 persons responded to the questionnaire. As a result, the cell sizes in the analysis are frequently too small to give an adequate comparison (1976:60).
Therefore, these findings must be regarded with some skepticism.
Based on previous findings (Arney and Trescher, 1976; McCormick, 1975)
McIntosh and Alston (1977) evaluated the changes in abortion attitudes by reviewing the polls concerning the acceptance of abortion among white
Catholics and Protestants, in 1962 and 1975. They found that in the three abortion situations—health conditions, deformity of child, and lack of money—there was an increased acceptance of abortion by both groups
(1977:296). The data also indicated that there had been a small decrease in Protestant-Catholic attitudinal differences (1977:295).
Tedrow and Mahoney (1979) compared abortion trends for Protestants and
Catholics for the period from 1972 to 1975. They found that the "Protestants were consistently more liberal than Catholics, although the greatest in crease in approval over the 1972-76 period was realized by the Catholics"
(1979:186). Their analysis of abortion attitudes suggests that differences between the Catholics and Protestants are narrowing; however, distinct differences still remain between the two groups.
To recapitulate the findings reported above, the majority of the re- j search supported the conclusion that although differences in abortion atti tudes have narrowed, religious identification differentials still exist
(Arney and Trescher, 1976; McIntosh and Alston, 1977; Tedrow and Mahoney,
1979). Based on the last two decades of research, the data indicate a continual convergence between the Catholics and non-Catholics in attitudes 29
toward abortion. The present study seeks to explore further the impact of
the religious identification variables on attitudes toward abortion.
Gender
Continually changing sex roles have heightened the interest in the
study of gender differences. One of the major changes has been a general
trend toward convergence in roles, and subsequent attitudes for males
and females. First, the conditions which have influenced the gender
convergence will be considered and then the literature which specifically
analyzes the gender differences in abortion attitudes will be reviewed.
Convergence in sex role orientations has occurred as a result of
industrialization, the presence of women in the labor force, women’s movements which have pressed for greater equality of rights, and new social
trends which emphasize a greater utilization of women in business, govern ment, and the military (Tomeh, 1975). Industrialization has allowed women to become an active part of the labor force because certain jobs which once required the brute strength of a man can now be performed by pushing a button or pulling a lever. Equality for men and women provided by technology may eventually result in converging patterns between the sexes in Income levels, worker’s benefits, and equal status.
The women’s movement has brought about many changes and improve ments regarding various rights and opportunities afforded to women.
Tomeh (1975) suggested two social conditions which have led to the focus on women’s rights, which in turn have led to greater similarity between the sexes. First, increased contraceptive technology has allowed women the option of rationally planned parenthood. Contraceptive technology has allowed women to control fertility and thus be able to compete with 30
men in the labor force. The second major influence has been the social
acceptance of women in the labor force, even when children are young
(1975:65). No longer are women expected to remain at home during the growth
of the child. Instead, social standards have allowed women to occupy a
place in the labor force as: they fulfill the responsibilities of home and
family (Mason, et al., 1976). As women increasingly compete with men in
the labor force, similarity in attitudes is likely to follow. Furthermore,
attitudes toward contraceptive usage (Westoff and Jones, 1979) and abortion
attitudes (Westoff and Jones, 1977) have shown converging trends and sug
gest that narrowing of differences between the sexes has already occurred.
A recent study of college students conducted by Tomeh and her associ
ates (1979), tested the notion of convergence between the sexes. The purpose
of their study was to test the hypothesis that patterns in sex role orien
tations are converging. Two dimensions of the sex role orientation were
used to measure convergence: 1) attitudes toward the employment of married women; and 2) attitudes toward sex role conflict. Their findings
revealed only a small amount of convergence between the sexes on both
dimensions (1979:23). One explanation of the above finding was that the
"shift in sex egalitarian values may be more apparent than real" (.1979:23) .
In Tomeh’s study, convergence in sex roles was noted when women’s work was based on economic necessity. In situations when employment was financially necessary for women, men more readily accepted working as a legitimate responsibility for women. The authors pointed out that
"crisis may well represent a condition of rapid and significant role change" (1979:23). As the above findings suggest, individuals change their attitudes to conform with their behavior in crisis situations. In 31
Easterlin's (1969) economic utility model it is suggested that people
make rational fertility choices based on the economic utility of having
a child. This results in certain types of behavior. Abortion attitudes
are often aligned to complement rational fertility behavior. With the
aligning of attitudes and behavior, convergence of the attitudes of both
male and female are likely to occur.
Tomeh and her associates also tested three sets of independent
variables (i.e., socioeconomic status; demographic characteristics5 and
attitudinal factors, as related to sex roles) and their impact on the
dependent variable of role convergence. Their findings revealed that
there was greatest sex role convergence on the 'attitudinal factors.'
Their explanation was that "...sex role ideological attitudes may mean it
has become increasingly important for them to believe that this
orientation is also consistent with other related attitudes" (1979:24).
It follows from the theoretical logic above that as sex role attitudes
converge between the sexes, other related attitudes and behaviors (e.g.,
abortion attitudes) are likely to follow suit.
Studies making gender comparisons regarding abortion attitudes have provided conflicting results. Some studies have reported that women are more accepting of abortion than men (Hendershot and Grimm, 1974; Blasi, et al., 1975) while other studies have reported just the opposite (Blake,
1971; Clayton and Tolone, 1973; Finner and Gamache, 1969; Rao and Bouvier,
1974; Tedrow and Mahoney, 1979). There are also studies which have reported no significant differences between the two groups in relationship to abortion attitudes (Hertel, et al., 1974; Wagenaar and Knol, 1977;
McIntosh and Alston, 1977). 32
Among the studies which have found women to be more accepting of abortion than men is a research report by Hendershot and Grimm (1974) which analyzed abortion attitudes among nurses and social workers.
When Hendershon and Grimm controlled for gender differences, the females
(69 per cent) were more tolerant of abortion under four or more conditions than the males (59 per cent) under the same number of conditions (1974:440).
Before accepting their conclusions, however, one should be aware of at least two limitations in their study. First, the gender comparison was based on a sample of 327 females and only forty-six males. Although the comparison is based on percentages, the small size of the male sample increases the likelihood that it may not be an accurate represen tation of the male population. Second, while gender comparisons were possible for the social workers, the absence of male nurses in the sample made gender comparisons impossible for the nurses.
Blasl, MacNeil, and O’Neil’s (1975) study of women in Catholic colleges also found that women were more accepting of abortion than their male counterparts. Their findings were consistent for both conservative and liberal measures of religiosity (1975:37). These findings must be understood in terms of the composition of the sample. Two Catholic colleges were used, of which one was: labeled ’conservative’ while the other was labeled ’liberal.’ Although the authors do not report the exact number of males and females sampled from each of the colleges, they do note that there "was a higher proportion of females in the reputedly liberal college than in the reputedly conservative college" (1975:36-37). The overrepresentation of women in the liberal Catholic college may have biased the conclusions to reflect women as being more liberal than they actually 33
are. However, the liberal position of women regarding abortion attitudes
has been supported in other studies (Hendershot and Grimm, 1974).
Among the research projects which have found men to be more accepting
of abortion than women was a study by Judith Blake (1971). Her article,
which described the trends in abortion attitudes during the 1960 decade, has
provided one of the most complete summaries of the abortion attitude litera
ture of that decade. Her use of various polls¿(ive., Gallup and NFS) and
longitudinal data allowed the comparison of gender differences over a period
of time. A consistent finding was that the males were more liberal in
their acceptance of abortion under both hard and soft conditions than females
Another study which found men to be more accepting of abortion than women was conducted by Finner and Gamache (.1969). They studied multiple dimensions of religiosity and abortion attitudes while controlling for gender differences. When comparing males and females on a religious commitment scale, they found that females were significantly more religious
than the males (1969:8), On the scale which measured attitudes toward abortion, they did not find a statistically significant difference between the males, and females. However, the direction of the relationship suggested that the males were more liberal in their attitudes toward abortion than the females.
Clayton and Tolone (1973) felt that the ideological dimension was worthy of réévaluation, although. Finner and Gamache had not found it to be a significant factor in influencing abortion attitudes. They found that when controlling for sex, all of the seven abortion conditions except one (’serious defect'), resulted in an inverse relationship which was stronger for the females than males (1973:31), Although the. . 34
relationship was stronger for the females, Clayton and Tolone found that
sex differences did not significantly alter the original inverse relation
ship between religiosity and attitudes toward induced abortion,' Clayton
and Tolone found that "even with the control on sex, the correlation between
religiosity and attitudes toward induced abortion never dropped below
.32" (1973:31). They concluded that the ideological dimension of re
ligiosity was a better predictor of abortion attitudes for females than
it was; for males. Thus, the research shows that gender continues to influence
attitudes toward abortion.
Arney and Trescher's (.1976) study of trends in abortion attitude
from 1972 to 1975 revealed a greater liberalization of abortion attitudes
among males than females, along with a general fluctuation in gender
differences. Although an increasing gap between the males and females was reported during the 1960’s (Hendershot and Grimm, 1974), Arney and
Trescher reported the following findings in the 1970’s:
In 1972, while there are hints of this difference, it is not statistically significant. In 1973, immediately following the Supreme Court decisions, the differential reemerges: slightly; but in 1974, it is in the opposite direction. By 1975, the differential again shifts in direction, with pro portions of men and women similar to those of 1973 (.1976:121),
Their findings again suggest that gender continues to be important in assessing abortion attitudes. One interesting pattern which was found was that the percentage of women who approved of abortion tended to conform to the percentage obtained for men in the previous year.
Following the increased acceptance by the males in 1973, a decline in approval occured in 1974. A similar decline occurred for the females in 1975 following the increased approval in 1974. Possibly current 35
attitudes of males reflect the direction of future attitudes of females.
The findings of Rao and Bouvier (1974) suggested that males are more
liberal than females in their attitudes toward abortion when soft reasons
were considered. However, when hard reasons were considered, there were no
gender differences. These findings, which were based on a Rhode Island
sample in 1971, lend support to the notion that males are generally more
accepting in their attitudes toward abortion than females. This conflicts
with the earlier study of Tedrow and Mahoney (1979) where it was found that males approved more readily of abortion than females when all six conditions
of abortion were considered. However, when the six conditions, were di
chotomized, they found the sex differences to be less for the hard reasons
than for the soft reasons, thus lending additional support to the find
ings of Arney and Trescher (1976). Tedrow and Mahoney further found that
1973 was the key year regarding the greatest acceptance of abortion by males
in all categories. It is probable that the Supreme Court decisions in fluenced this increase in acceptance of abortion. In 1974, the females followed the males in expressing even greater approval or abortion in five of the six categories than the males (1979:184), The authors also noted that in 1976 there was a trend of increased approval of abortion by males.
Although the females did not show so great an increase in 1976 as the males, the authors speculated that "females tend to lag one year behind males in increased or decreased approval of abortion" (1979:188),
Accompanying the research literature which, provides conflicting support for gender influences in abortion attitudes are those studies which have found gender differences to be insignificant when analyzing attitudes toward abortion (Hertel, et al,, 1974; McIntosh and Alston, 36
1977; Wagenaar and Knol, 1977). In a sample of nurses and social workers,
Hertel and his associates found that when using four or more abortion
conditions there was no significant difference between males and females
(1974:32). Despite studies which find support for gender differences,
Hertel and his associates concluded that gender has a negligible effect
on abortion attitudes.
McIntosh and Alston's (1977) comparative study of polls taken in
1962 and 1975 found that the intra-religious sex differences were minor.
In both 1962 and 1975, Catholics were found to vary little by sex dif
ferences, except on the abortion condition of poverty, whereas the female
Protestants indicated a more supportive trend in acceptance of abortion than the males in two of three conditions (i.e., deformity in the child,
lack of money) (1977:297).
In reviewing the research literature cited above it is apparent that
the evidence concerning the influence of gender on abortion attitudes is
conflicting. There is no one general consensus as to whether women are
more or less permissive in their abortion attitudes than men, or whether
there is in fact any significant difference between the two. Since it is
based on data pertaining to abortion attitudes of both wives and husbands,
the present study provides opportunity to explore possible influences of
sex more fully.
Education
Education has frequently been used as a control variable in abortion research (Arney and Trescher, 1976; Balakrishnan, 1972; Blake, 1971;
Finner and Gamache, 1969; Hedderson, 1974; Jones and Westoff, 1972;
McIntosh and Alston, 1977; Tedrow and Mahoney, 1979; Westoff and Ryder, 1970) 37
The research findings in this area are conflicting in that some studies
■report education to be a significant factor in determining abortion
attitudes (Blake, 1971; Balakrishnan, 1972; Hedderson, et al., 1974;
Jones and Westoff, 1972; McIntosh and Alston, 1977; Tedrow and Mahoney,
1979), while others do not (Arney and Trescher, 1976; Finner and Gamache,
1969). Within this context, a review of abortion research and the impact
of the educational variable is important to the understanding of abortion
attitudes.
Among the studies which reported the existence of educational dif
ferences is the research of Judith Blake (1971). Her assessment of
the influence of education can best be understood in her analysis of the
non-Catholics. Education for non-Catholics resulted primarily in a
liberalization of abortion attitudes for both men and women. The greatest
level of disapproval of abortion came from the lower educational brackets,
whereas the more educated reflected greater approval (1971:543). The
most interesting finding was that the "...differences between the grade
school and college-educated widened from none to twelve percentage points
for men, and from thirteen to twenty-five percentage points for women"
(1971:543). Blake noted that those in the higher educational levels
lessened in their disapproval of abortion over the decade, while in the
lower educational levels attitudes remained stable or increased in their
disapproval of abortion. Her conclusion was that eventually the educated
classes, which reflect the greatest approval of abortion, will establish
a pattern for the other educational groups. She did not analyze the influence of education on the Catholic’s attitudes toward abortion, other 38
than to say that "...in general, they disapprove of legalizing abortion more than non-Catholics" (1971:546).
A study of married women in metropolitan Toronto by Balakrishnan and his associates (1972) controlled for the effects of education on abortion attitudes. They found a direct relationship between.education and attitudes toward abortion, even when controlling for other predictor variables, such as religiosity, income, age, and desired family size
(1972:40). The interesting finding from their study was that those people whose education level exceeded eight years or more did not increase their approval of abortion as rapidly as did those with eight years or less of education.
In an article by Jones and Westoff (1972) which analyzed attitudes toward abortion in the United States in 1965 and 1970 (based on National
Fertility Study data), a direct relationship between education and attitudes toward abortion was again noted. In 1965, a conservative pattern of attitudes toward abortion existed for white Catholic women among the least educated as well as the most highly educated (1972:573). People on both ends of the educational continuum disapproved of abortion in that most of the highly educated desired larger family sizes and consequently rejected abortion, while the less well educated people adhered to the teachings of the Catholic church. In 1970, however, a major shift was noted. Attitudes toward abortion were found to be the same for Catholics at all levels of education. Jones and Westoff cited the largest attitude change occurring among the young and educated Catholics. This group exemplified a direct relationship between education and attitudes toward abortion (1972:573). Young, educated Catholics were increasingly emulating 39
the abortion attitude trends of the non-Catholics. The authors concluded
that based on the 1970 NFS data, education continues to be an important
predictor variable of abortion attitudes.
To better understand the role of education in predicting abortion
attitudes, it is necessary to consider other studies which review more
recent data. One such study which also found a direct relationship
between education and abortion attitudes was conducted by Hedderson
and his associates (1974) when they analyzed 1972 NORC data. Along with
Westoff and Jones, they found that education clearly increased approval
of abortion.
Another study which addressed the relationship between education
and abortion attitudes was conducted by McIntosh and Alston (1977) .
Their findings, which are based on a review of polls taken in 1962 and
1975, do not indicate a convergence trend among educational levels in predicting abortion attitudes. They found education to have an effect
on Protestants in both 1962 and 1975 (1977:298). Within all levels of education there was increased acceptance of abortion as the level of education increased. Among Protestants, education played an influential role in the formation of abortion attitudes.
When all abortion conditions were considered, McIntosh and Alston found that from 1962 to 1975, the well-educated Catholic's acceptance of abortion increased more than less well-educated Catholics. The authors explained the increased acceptance of abortion among college- educated Catholics as a result of two possible reasons: 1) that Catholics are increasingly being affected by education in the same way as the
Protestants; and 2) the educated Catholics are playing 'catch up' 40
with the non college-educated levels of acceptance of abortion (1977:299).
McIntosh and Alston concluded that both Protestants and Catholics continue
to be influenced in the formation of abortion attitudes by the level of
educational attainment.
One of the most recent studies which analyzed abortion attitudes in
relationship to education was conducted by Tedrow and Mahoney (1979).
Their review of NORC data (1972-1976) suggested that education continues
to play an influential part in the formation of abortion attitudes. They
found the least approval of abortion for all six abortion conditions
among those lowest in educational level (1979:185). Also, those in
dividuals lowest in education tended to show the greatest amount of
fluctuation in abortion attitudes over a period of time. Conversely,
those highest in education tended to fluctuate the least over time.
Tedrow and Mahoney’s study, as well as those mentioned earlier, supports
the influence of education levels on abortion attitudes.
There have also been several studies which have found educational
differences to converge and not represent a significant influence in the
forming of abortion attitudes (Arney and Trescher, 1976; Finner and
Gamache, 1969) . A study by Finner and Gamache (1969) of individuals
from a New England community used education as a control variable.
Their findings regarding education and abortion attitudes were not
statistically significant; educational levels did not represent a
significant determinant in abortion attitudes. However, the direction
of their findings suggested that the greater the level of education, the more liberal the attitudes toward abortion. Further evaluation of the
influence of education is necessary. 41
Arney and Trescher’s (1976) study of trends In attitudes toward
abortion (1972 to 1975) revealed a change in previous findings regarding
education and abortion attitudes. In 1972, prior to the Supreme Court’s
decisions, education was the best predictor of abortion attitudes.
Following the decision, there was a rapid increase in acceptance of abortion
among those with lower educational levels. In 1973, there was little
difference between high school graduates and those who had attended
college (.1976:121). This shift in acceptance of abortion among the
less educated reversed the predominant trend of the 1960’s. The 1974
data showed "no significant differences between men and women at any
educational level" (1976:121).
In contrast to the majority of the research which supports the
strong relationship between abortion and education, the previous two studies provide only limited support for the relationship between education and abortion attitudes. There is thus a need for further research which continues to measure the relationship between the two.
Family Formation
The family formation dimension is the last control variable being considered in this study. This dimension involves two social factors which influence the development of the family, the desired family size and the present parity of the family. As changes within society have put increasing, pressures on the American family, the relationship between the family formation variables and abortion attitudes has become increasingly important.
Desired as well as actual family size are important factors in evaluating the impact of a family formation dimension on abortion 42
attitudes (Renzi, 1975; Richardson and Fox, 1972), Recent concerns
regarding family size reflect a shift toward smaller family sizes
(Groat, et al., 1976). Although questions regarding the permanence of
the smaller desired family have been raised (Blake, 1974), the trends
toward small families can best be understood in a historical context:
Between 1936 and 1953, approximately 30 per cent of adult men and 27 per cent of adult women expressed a two- child preference. Then, during the late 1950's and early 1960's the proportions in this category were reduced to a little over 20 percent for men and 16 to 17 percent for women. During the late 1960's the proportions started rising gradually among both men and women. But, between 1968 and 1972, those alleging a two-child preference doubles among women and rose by 67 percent among men of all ages" (Blake, 1974; 27-28).
The trend toward smaller families has also been supported in studies
of the family. In the article "Some Speculations on the Future of Marriage
and Fertility," Westoff (1978:79-80) cited various social trends which
support a movement toward smaller families (e.g., fewer marriages,
divorce, cohabitation, remarriage, and illegitimacy). A growing norm
of the smaller family (e.g., two-child norm) involves an element of
rational fertility planning in which contraception and abortion play
a crucial role.
One of the most influential determinants of desired family size is
religious affiliation or religious involvement (Brackbill and Howell,
1974; Coombs, 1979; Long, 1970; Potvin and Lee, 1974; Weller and Bouvier,
1972). Traditionally, Catholics have desired larger family sizes than non
Catholics (Jones and Nortman, 1968). Recent studies have found distinct differences in family size preferences among the two groups (Wicks and
Workman, 1978). Brackbill and Howell (.1974) found that Catholics 43
.considered’" 3.4 children to be ideal, while non-Catholics considered
2.9 to be ideal (1974:35). They also found that not only did distinct
preferences exist between Catholics and non-Catholics but that religious
affiliation was a better predictor of desired family size than numerous
other variables (e.g., race, sex, age, socioeconomic status, number of
siblings, type of school, and maternal work history).
A study which specifically tested family size preference in relation
to abortion reform legislation was conducted by James Richardson and
Sandy Fox (1972). They found that "preferred family size is an important
intervening variable in the relation between religion and abortion attitudes"
(1972:25). People who prefer smaller families are consistently more
liberal on abortion legislation than those who prefer larger families.
They found this to be true for both Catholics and Protestants.
Following the study by Richardson and Fox, Mario Renzi (1975)
conducted a study looking at the impact of family size as an intervening
variable between religion and abortion attitudes. Renzi used 1972 NORC
data for a sample. He dichotomized family size into small (two or less)
and large (three or more), religion into Catholic and Protestant, and
used the six situations of pregnancy to measure abortion attitudes. The
findings revealed that within both religious groups, the preferred family
size appeared to have an independent effect on abortion attitudes (1975:26).
In the small family preference grouping, both Catholics and Protestants
were much more liberal on all abortion conditions than corresponding
religious group members who preferred larger families (1975:26). A
slight twist to their findings was that among both religious groups who preferred smaller families, there was greater variance between Catholics 44
and Protestants than there was among Catholics and Protestants with larger
family preferences.
Several conclusions were drawn from this study. First, "preferred
family size has a relationship to abortion attitudes relatively independent
of religious influence" (1975:26). The second conclusion was that small
family size preference indicates a "greater difference between religious
groups with respect to attitudes toward abortion" than larger family
preference groups. The importance of Renzi’s study is that family size
preference is identified as an important specifying variable in the
formation of abortion attitudes.
Educational levels have also been studied in relationship to desired family size (Coombs, 1979; Jones and Nortman, 1968). Jones and Nortman,
in a 1978 study of Catholic fertility and family planning, found the relationship between Catholic control of family size and education to be
U-shaped (1968:5). That is, women with the lowest and highest educational attainment were found to have the highest fertility. Furthermore, they noted that Catholics of all levels of education in the U.S. wanted a larger family than Protestants (1968:7). The greatest fertility differ ences between the Protestants and Catholics occurred among the college educated. The college-educated Catholics wanted a larger family than the college-educated Protestants (1968:7).
A study by Lolagene Coombs (1979), which was based on 1973 data from the National Survey of Family Growth, found education to be significantly predictive of family size. She found fifty per cent of the college-educated women preferred having one to three children, as opposed to thirty-three per cent of the non-college educated. In these two 45
educational groups, the percentages of women who desired larger families were 9 and 29, respectively. One explanation for the difference is that the educated have a greater base of knowledge from which to act in a rational manner in their fertility behavior. In addition, it is likely that more highly educated women have greater interest in pursuing a career, thus making larger family sizes more difficult.
To summarize the studies concerning family size, the major finding is that there is an inverse relationship between desired family size and abortion attitudes. Family size, along with the other control variables considered in this report, have proved to be of importance in predicting abortion attitudes.
The studies reviewed above have presented empirical findings as they relate to the religiosity and abortion attitude relationship. Since these findings can best be understood within a structural framework, the follow ing section reviews several theoretical ideas, models, and hypotheses which may contribute further to the understanding of abortion attitudes.
Theoretical Perspectives
There are at least three explanations which contribute significantly to the understanding of factors influencing the formation of abortion attitudes. These are the secularization trend, the rationality-utility model, and the convergence hypothesis. Each of these social perspectives contributes significantly to the general theoretical importance of the present study.
Secularization Trend
The classical writings of Durkheim provide an explanation for the secularization trend by distinguishing between the sacred and the profane 46
dimensions of society. The role of religion is characterized as having
a gradually decreasing effect on decisions and actions within modern society
(Giddens, 1972:245). Although religion once had a strong influence on
society, "...political, economic, scientific functions have gradually
freed themselves from religious control, established themselves separately and taken on a more and more openly temporal character" (Giddens, 1972:245).
The move from the sacred to the profane can be described as a process of secularization.
The classical writings of Weber also provide an explanation for present day secularization trends (Aron, 1970; Coser, 1977; Gerth and
Mills, 1966). Weber identified the shift from a "traditional" society, to one which is more modern or "rational" (Gerth and Mills, 1966). In the traditional society, values, customs, and mores which prevailed in the past have a continuing influence in the present. Weber’s concept of
"traditional authority" emphasized a type of leadership which reflected ties to the past. In the modern society, as bureaucratization occurs and role relationships become more clearly defined, there is a sense of rational calculation which takes place at all levels of society. The modern develop ment of the bureaucracy draws on efficiency and rationality by each part of the society (Coser, 1977:232). Weber also noted that as men became ra tional in their religious behavior, there was a tendency for them to systema tize their religion and to reduce inputs from divine or magical powers
(Coser, 1977:233). The secularization of religion is an important aspect of the transition from a traditional society to one which reflects modernism and rationality.
A contemporary work which deals with the present day secularization 47
trends in society is Harvey Cox’s analysis of The Secular City (1966).
Cox used the urban environment to study the forces of secularization.
He analyzed the urban environment as the technological metropolis in
which the impact of traditional religion has been loosened and results
in a society of a secularized nature. This process is characterized
by "...impersonality in which functional relationships multiply,
...where a degree of tolerance and anonymity replace traditional moral
sanctions and long-term acquaintancships" (Cox, 1966:4). The impersonality
and anonymity in human relationships leads to an increasing sense of
alienation and dependence on rationalization. The changes in the nature
of relationships result in a greater variance of attitudes and behaviors
in areas such as religion and abortion. Since religion and abortion are
so intimately tied to the value of human life, changes occurring as a
result of secularization can also be expected to alter thinking regarding
these two areas.
Berger, Berger, and Kellner (1974) provided additional understanding
of the secularization of society in their book, The Homeless Mind. The
authors discussed secularization within the context of modernization.
Modernization can be understood as the separation of church and state, the
autonomization of the economy as against the old religious norms, the
secularization of the law and of public education, and the loss of the
church as a focus of community life (Berger, et al., 1974:80). Moderni
zation has also simultaneously brought about a secularization of religion within the public sphefe of society (Berger, et al., 1974). Berger and his coauthors felt that rationalization becomes an important part of the modernization trend, with people gradually releasing control of religion 48
in the public sphere, and hanging on to religion in the private sphere
of their lives. One accompanying effect of the loss of religious influence
is that individuals are confronted by a continual "ever-changing kaleido
scope of social experiences and meaning," where increased rationalization
becomes a way of life (Berger, et al., 1974:78). Berger wrote:
Modern identity is peculiarly individuated. The individual quite logically attains a very important place in the hierarchy of values. Individual freedom, individual autonomy and individual rights come to be taken for granted as moral imperatives of fundamental importance, and foremost among these individual rights is the right to plan and fashion one's life as freely as possible (Berger, et al., 1974:79).
Increasing rationalization therefore occurs as a result of modernization and secularization, and leads to greater personal control of life situations such as abortion.
Rationality-Utility Model
There are a number of reports which draw upon a rationality- utility framework for the study of fertility behavior (Becker, 1960;
Easterlin, 1969; Hawthorn, 1970; Luker, 1975; Scanzoni, 1975; Thorton,
1979). Gary Becker (1960), in an article titled "An Economic Analysis of Fertility," suggested that parents structure their fertility decisions in a similar manner as other household economic choices are made. He sug gested that children are viewed as consumer durables and represent particu lar economic value in fertility decisions. Richard Easterlin (1969:150) developed the ideas of Becker to state that there is not only an "economic theory of household choice" involved in fertility decisions, but there are also social factors (i.e., income, prices, and tastes) which must be in cluded in the socioeconomic model. Easterlin's model proposed that parents assign a particular utility value on child preferences based on the 49
household choices. The utility notion of Easterlin was later developed into
a 'utility model’ by Hawthorn (1970). The primary emphasis of Hawthorn's
utility model was an attempt on the part of the parents to minimize the
costs and punishments as well as to maximize the rewards and benefits
of fertility decisions (1970:65). The importance of these three works was
the element of rationality which was identified in the fertility decision
process.
Scanzoni (1975) has used the utility model of fertility to study
changes within sex roles. His theory suggests that sex role norms are
changing as individuals and couples make rational choices regarding the
potential costs and benefits of fertility choices (1975:9). Scanzoni
summarized his voluminous findings with the generalization that:
...young men and women of both races who are better educated (and perhaps non-Catholic) tend to be the most modern or egaliterian or individualistic with regard to sex role norms...(they tend) to be the vanguard of the movement away from marital role structures based on specialization and toward structures based instead on interchangeability (1975:179) .
Those individuals who reflect a modern sex role position are individuals who have expressed an element of rationality by weighing the costs and benefits of their modern sex role position.
Another research perspective which draws upon the rationality frame work^ in fertility behavior is suggested by Kristin Luker (1975) in the
^Rationality is defined as "...the presence of a body of thinking which defines a goal (such as the prevention of pregnancy), defines appropriate means to achieve the goal (such as the use of contracep tion), and then uses the means in an effort to achieve the goal (Luker, 1975:30). 50
book Taking Chances. . The author proposed that the contraceptive
risk-taking model involves- "a series of decisions which appear rational
to the decision makers themselves'' (.1975:79-80), Luker's model included
various points at which a rational choice is made as to whether or not
to continue to make further choices in the contraceptive risk-taking
behavior. If contraceptive risk-taking has failed and pregnancy has
occurred, the ultimate rational decision is whether to have an abortion
or carry the pregnancy to full term. Luker's model supported the position
that even in critical life decisions, such as abortion, there is an
element of rational choice which exists.
Convergence Hypotheses
An hypothesized outcome of the theoretical perspectives above is
the 'convergence hypothesis,' which is the process by which various
social elements of a society move toward increased similarity, Empirical
support for the convergence hypothesis can be found in Catholic and non
Catholic contraceptive behavior, abortion attitudes, and gender orien
tations (Arney and Trescher, 1976; Jones and Westoff, 1972; Tedrow and
Mahoney, 1974; Tomeh, 1979; Westoff and Bumpass, 1973; Westoff and Jones,
1977; 1979).
Increasing similarities in the contraceptive behavior of Catholics
and non-Catholics. have provided support for the convergence hypothesis.
In Westoff and Ryder's (1970) analysis of Catholic fertility behavior in
1969, one year after the Papal Encyclical, they found inc increasing majority of the members using non-approved methods of contraception
(1970:1). Consequently, the dramatic changes in contraceptive usage among the Catholics in the late 1960’s and 1970 lead to Westoff and 51
Bumpass (.1973) studying these changes. The authors compared the National
Fertility Study Data of 1970 with similar data collected in 1965. The
liberalization trend in Catholic fertility behavior can be noted in the
following comment:
The proportion of Catholic women between the ages ofll8 and 39 who use methods of contraception other than rhythm has increased from 30 per cent in 1955 to 68 per cent in 1970, with the greatest changes occurring in the last 5 years. Between 1965 and 1970, the percentage of Catholic women deviating from official teaching on birth control has risen from 51 to 68 per cent. It seems clear that the papal encyclical has not retarded the increasing defection of Catholic women from this teaching (Westoff and Bumpass, 1973:41).
Thus, in comparing the contraceptive behavior of the Catholics with
the non-Catholics in the period between 1965 and 1970, Westoff and Bumpass
found a marked convergence between the two groups. Interestingly, this difference was most notable among the younger Catholic women. The authors
suggested that the convergence trend between the two groups was likely
to result in birth control practices becoming indistinguishable for the two groups, therefore implying a trend toward secularization (1973:44).
Westoff and Jones (1977) expanded the findings of Westoff and
Bumpass to include the data collected in the 1975 National Fertility Study
They found that the difference between Catholics and non-Catholics was continuing to narrow:
Although the proportion of women currently using contraception is still slightly higher among non-Catholics than among Catholics, the difference has shrunk to 3.5 percent by 1975, compared with 11.5 percent in 1965. (1977:205).
They concluded that the behavior of U.S. Catholics in their contraceptive usage was progressively modeling that of the non-Catholics. Their predictions were that by the end of the 1970 decade there would be 52
"little to differentiate" the two groups (1977:207).
A recent article by Westoff and Jones (.1979) further analyzed the
same data and included data from the 1955 and 1960 Growth of American
Families Study. The purpose of their article was to look in more detail
at the converging pattern between the Catholics and the non-Catholics.
They suggested the following reasons for the recent convergence in fer
tility between the two groups:
1) the rejection of the church's teaching on birth control; 2) the great increase in the proportion of Catholics in the middle class; 3) the suburbanization of Catholics; 4) the rapid blurring of distinctive identities.
A few years prior to Westoff and Jones' (.1979) article, William
McCready and Andrew Greeley authored a paper titled "The End of American
Catholicism?" (1972). Their paper was inspired by the ongoing seculariza
tion process within the Catholic Church. The study concentrated on changing trends within the Catholic Church, one of which was abortion.
Using a six item scale to measure the respondent's opinion regarding the circumstances under which a legal abortion was obtainable (1972:330), they compared Protestants and Catholics in 1965 and 1972. They found a marked similarity between Catholic and Protestant patterns of change in their acceptance of abortion and the changes were almost the same for both groups. They found that Catholics had changed more than Protestants regarding the hard conditions while Protestants changed more than
Catholics on the soft conditions (1972;336). The authors also noted that both Catholics and Protestants changed their attitudes to a greater extent on involuntary conditions as opposed to voluntary conditions. 53
The above findings suggest that:
...Catholics are becoming more like the rest of the population in terms of their opinion on critical and controversial issues. They are less readily identifiable as a separate block where we look at church attendance, moral issues or attitudes about the legality of controversial practices (1972:337).
Overall, their work suggests that the Catholic population in the United
States is increasingly converging with the Protestant population in
attitudes surrounding abortion ethics.
The convergence between males and females in attitudes twoard
abortion has also been supported in the literature (Arney and Trescher,
1976; Tedrow and Mahoney, 1979; Westoff and Jones, 1972). As liberaliza
tion of abortion attitudes has occurred in the last several decades, males and females have grown closer in their positions (Arney and Trescher,
1976; Tedrow and Mahoney, 1979). Additional support for the convergence hypothesis in the area of sex roles has also been provided by Tomeh and her associates (1979).
A theoretical explanation of the convergence in fertility related behaviors can be found in cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957).
With the trend toward secularization and increased technology, individuals and groups are likely to experience situations which put them in conflict.
As this occurs, there is a need to resolve the resulting dissonance by altering behavior and/or attitudes to reach a state of cognitive consis tency. The attempt to reduce the dissonance may lead to a convergence among subgroups of the population.
The secularization trend, the growing use of the rationality-utility model, and the convergence hypothesis provide the context for the present 54
study of the relationship between religiosity and abortion attitudes. The
ongoing process of secularization in society has fostered a notion of self
reliance, which has in turn led to greater rational control of one's
destiny. Consequently, individuals are continually in a developmental
process of making decisions which reflect rational control. One of the
consequences of increasing dependence on rationality in decision-making
is the convergence in ideology among various subgroups of the population.
Within this context of increasing secularization, the relationship between
religion and abortion is of paramount interest. Thus, the present study
is an attempt to evaluate the continually evolving relationship between
religiosity and abortion.
Summary
Much of the recent debate regarding the abortion issue has occurred as a result of the 1973 Supreme Court decisions which provided easier access to abortion. As a result of the Supreme Court decisions, one of the most consistent findings in the literature has been the liberalization of abortion attitudes over time. Related to the liberalization of abortion attitudes are those studies which measure the effects of religiosity.
An inverse relationship between the two variables has repeatedly been supported.
There are four control variables which are being considered in the present study: religious identification, gender, education, and family formation. Research has found that differentials along the religious identification variable continue to exist regarding abortion attitudes, although a large part of the literature has suggested that these differen tials are narrowing. Abortion studies considering gender have tradition ally found that women are more conservative in their attitudes toward abor- 55
tion than men. However, the converse finding has also been found by some
studies, and still other studies have reported no differences. Research
looking at the third control variable, education, has found fluctuating
influences. In some studies, increases in education have reported decreased acceptance of abortion, while in others, educational attainment has increased the tolerance of abortion. Analysis of the final control varia ble, family formation, has shown that desired family size and parity are central to assessing abortion attitudes of couples in the early years of family formation.
There are three theoretical perspectives relevant to the present study of religiosity and abortion attitudes. First, the secularization trend explains the transitions in society due to which the impact of religion has decreased. Second, secularization within society provides the context in which elements of rationality occur. The rationality-utility model suggests that individuals make decisions in life based on increased knowledge and specific preferences. This theory is best illustrated in fertility studies which suggest that individuals act in an increasingly rational manner regarding children preferences. An understanding of abortion as the last alternative to be employed in terminating an unwanted pregnancy heightens the impact of the rationality-utility model. Third, the influence of both the secularization trend and rationality-utility model leads to a convergence hypothesis which provides an explanation for the converging trends between various groups within society. Convergence trends have been found in contraceptive behavior, abortion attitudes, and sex role orientations. CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between religiosity and abortion attitudes, when controlling for various social variables. The data for the analysis were derived from 610 couples in the early family formation stages in the Toledo Metropolitan area. The measurement of abortion attitudes is based on a tolerance of abortion scale and a perceived disadvantages of abortion scale for which the mean scores of individual items have been analyzed to determine strength of approval for each item. The development of the religiosity variable is based on factor analysis of objective and subjective items of religious content.
Finally, a correlation of the religiosity items with the abortion attitude measures is presented.
Data for Analysis
Data for the sample were derived from continuously married couples in the early years of family formation. These individuals were selected due to their direct involvement in fertility-related decisions. A distinct advantage of a sample of this nature is that individuals are in tune with recent fertility trends, have a high birth rate, and are faced with the risk of pregnancy. Exploration of abortion attitudes among the husbands and wives provides insight into the planning aspect of the family forma tion process.
56 57
White couples who had been married in Lucas County between 1972 and
1977, and were continuing to reside in the Toledo Metropolitan area, were
selected as the target population. The computerized marriage records of
Lucas County were used to select married couples randomly from a four-year
period (1972-1975). Since, marriage records for 1976 and 1977 were unavail
able on magnetic tape, the samples for those years were drawn from the
original records.: From this list¡of married couples, current addresses:: were verified through use of telephone and city directories to identify
those couples still married and remaining in the Toledo area. A total sample of 610 couples was selected with approximately 100 couples for each of the years surveyed. The present data were drawn from the larger Groat and Neal Family Formation Study in which the data were collected under contract with the Center for Population Research.
The data were collected through a personally delivered, self-adminis tered questionnaire procedure. Once a meeting time was established with the couple, trained interviewers hand-carried separate questionnaires to the husbandand wife to be filled out individually. An advantage of this data collection technique is that the respondents were guaranteed anony mity while at the same time the interviewer was present to answer any ques tions which arose. Upon completion of the questionnaire, each respondent was paid five dollars for his or her participation. The collection of the data occurred between July, 1978 and January, 1979.
The questionnaire was-designed to cover numerous areas associated with the family formation process, such as attitudes and behaviors of couples both prior to marriage and during their initial stages of family formation.
The questionnaire was identical for wives and husbands except for a section 58
involving pregnancy and birth history information for the wives (31
pages for the wives and 27 pages for the husbands).The question
naire was designed to be self-administered, due to the survey’s length
and complexity and the relative cost of alternative data collection
techniques. The average completion time was one and one-half hours.
Although many areas related to family formation were included in
the questionnaire the present study has dealt directly with those areas
related to religiosity and abortion attitudes. The assessment of abortion
attitudes focuses on two dimensions, tolerance of abortion and perceived
disadvantages of abortion. Each of these dimensions is discussed below.
Tolerance of Abortion Measure
Attitudes toward abortion have been measured in variety of ways
(De Boer, 1977; Jones and Westoff, 1972; Balakrishnan, et al., 1972).
One method has been to determine in what particular situations an
individual would be tolerant of abortion. Tolerance of abortion items
can be conceptualized into a hard and a soft dimension. The hard dimension
is comprised of life situations which are beyond the control of the wife.
A woman’s health being seriously endangered as a result of a pregnancy,
a woman having been raped, and the existence of good reason to believe
the child might be deformed, are all conditions in which personal control by the woman is limited. These conditions are labeled as hard reasons because the rights and conditions of the mother are generally assumed to
preempt those of the fetus, therefore providing justification for the abortion.
1-A copy of those questions used in the present study is included in the appendix. 59
The soft abortion conditions are made up of self-discretionary actions
Volitional approval of abortion may occur if the woman is unmarried and
does not want to carry the pregnancy to full term. A couple who cannot
afford another child, want another child but not at this time, or do not
want any more children, may also opt for an abortion. The nature of the
soft abortion conditions is closely related to the principles of the
rationality-utility model, because individuals are considering abortion
as a final contraceptive procedure in rationally controlling fertility.
An empirical analysis of these hard and soft conditions permits
assessment of the relative importance of each item. Not only is it of
interest to compare the items between themselves but also to make com
parisons between wives and husbands on each of the items. The separate
opinions of husbands and wives are crucial in understanding the dual
realities inherent in the joint decision-making process. Therefore, both
abortion dimensions are presented individually for wives and husbands.
In order to determine if the conditions discussed above are valid
measures of the tolerance of abortion scale, mean scores of respondents'
approval or disapproval of abortion in that circumstance were calculated.
The findings are presented in Table 1.2 Each of the items was found to
be an important condition under which abortion is either tolerated or
not tolerated. When all of the conditions (seven) were considered, there
emerged an internal relationship among the indicators in which there
was a distinct dichotomization of items between hard and soft conditions
on the continuum of approval and disapproval. There is less tolerance of
abortion for both wives and husbands when the woman is unmarried, the
2 The mean scores in Table I are based on the mean level of approval of abortion with 0 signifying disapproval and 1 signifying approval. 60
Table I Mean Scores and Standard Deviations on Tolerance of Abortion Items Among Wives and Husbands.
Wives Husbands Sig. (N=610) (N=610) Levela
Items Mean Scores T
The woman’s health is seriously endangered . 94 .91 ns (S.D.=.24)b (.28)
The woman has been raped .86 .87 ns (.35) (.34)
There is good reason to believe the child might be deformed .73 .71 ns (.45) (.46)
The woman is unmarried .32 .38 ns (.47) (.49)
The couple cannot afford another child .24 .30 ns (.43) (.46)
The couple wants another child but not at this time .21 .22 ns (.41) (.42)
The couple does not want anymore children .11 .12 ns (.32) (.33)
& The significance level is based on a two-tailed test, using an adjusted T formula.
bIn this and subsequent tables, standard deviations are in parentheses. 61
the couple cannot afford another child, the couple wants another child
but not at this time, and the couple does not want any more children
(soft dimensions), than when the woman's health is seriously endangered,
the woman has been raped, or there is reason to believe the child might
be deformed (hard dimension). It is reasonable to assume that those
individuals who approve of abortion under the soft conditions will also
approve of it under the hard conditions.
A comparison between the wives and husbands on each of the abortion
items revealed no statistically significant relationship. However, among
five of the seven items, there was a trend of greater tolerance of abortion among the husbands than the wives.
Following the testing of the abortion items, a tolerance of abortion scale was formed by summing the scores of each item. The higher scores on the scale portray an attitude which favors abortion. Use of the tolerance of abortion scale will be presented in Chapter IV.
Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion Measure
A second measure of abortion attitudes in the present study involved a series of perceived disadvantages of having an abortion. There are eight perceived disadvantages of abortion which influenced attitudes toward abortion. First, because an abortion is a terminal act for a particular fetus, one might later regret having the abortion. Second, it is possible one would experience a sense of guilt. Third, abortion may be perceived as dangerous to one's health. Fourth, an individual may per ceive abortion as being morally wrong. Fifth, the disapproval of family 62
and friends may be incurred if abortion is decided upon. Sixth, to have
an abortion may result in loss of self-esteem. The two final disadvantages
are that it would be an admission of failure and that it would be too
embarassing.
To determine the ratings of perceived disadvantages of abortion, the
respondents were to rate each condition on a scale from a very important
disadvantage (score of 3), a somewhat important disadvantage (score of 2),
to not an important advantage (score of 1), The higher mean scores in
Table II indicate those conditions perceived as posing the greatest disadvantage of having an abortion. The condition which reflected the greatest perceived disadvantage was that one might later regret the decision to have an abortion, while the condition perceived as the least disadvantage was that it would be too embarrassing.
When all of the items were considered, the wife and husband differ entials were not significant for any of the perceived disadvantages, except for 'losing one's self-esteem.' The wives perceived losing self-esteem as more important than did the husbands. Similar to the trend found in the tolerance of abortion measure, among all of the abortion items husbands are less likely to perceive disadvantages than wives. Although the gender differences are not significant on this abortion measure, the trends suggest that differences in attitudes between the sexes do exist to some degree.
In order to form the perceived disadvantages of abortion scale, the items described above were factor analyzed and then combined to form a total factor score of perceived disadvantages. The use and explanation of this factor scale will be discussed in further detail in Chapter IV. 63
Table II Mean Scores and Standard Deviations of Perceived Disad vantages of Abortion Among Wives and Husbands.
Wives Husbands Sig. (N=610) (N=610) Level
Items Mean Scores
I might regret it later 1.61 1.40 ns (.64) (.71)
I would feel guilty 1.57 1.29 ns (.67) (.78)
It would be dangerous to my health 1.48 1.32 ns (.70) (.79)
It is morally wrong 1.35 1.15 ns (.79) (.85)
Family or friends would disapprove .82 .68 ns (.79) (.77)
I would lose my self-esteem .91 . 66 .001 (.85) (.82)
It would be an admission of failure .47 .43 ns (.73) (.71)
It is too embarrassing .35 .30 ns (.62) (.66)
The significance level is based on a two-tailed test, using an adjusted T formula. 64
Religiosity Measure
Although there have been a variety of attempts to define the
dimension of religiosity (Faulkner and De Jong, 1966; Glock and Stark,
1965; Robinson and Shaver, 1973), the manner in which religiosity is
conceptualized in each of these studies can be described as either an
objective or subjective dimension, or a combination of the two. The
objective dimension involves behavioral characteristics such as
frequency of church attendance, praying at home, attending religious meetings, receiving communion, and seeing a minister, rabbi, or priest.
The subjective dimension includes attitudinal characteristics such as the satisfaction of church attendance, the importance of peace of mind in religion, and ability to depend on one’s church or synagogue in times of trouble.
Within the present study, various items measuring religious involve ment were included to reflect both the objective and subjective dimension.
To determine the interrelationship of these items, a factor analysis, based on an unrotated factor, revealed a strong religiosity factor for both non-Catholic and Catholic wives and husbands (See Tables III and
IV, respectively).
In the present research, the religious identification variable has been dichotomized into two groups: Catholics and non-Catholics. Those labelled non-Catholic include all persons who do not identify with the
Catholic faith. The nature of each of these two groups varies in tradition, format, and ritual; thus, different items have been used to measure similar practices for each group. For example, such items as taking communion, attending mass, and seeing a priest were used for 65
Table III Factor Loadings on Religiosity Items Among Non-Catholic Wives (N=238) and Husbands (N=356).
£ Religiosity Items Factor Loadings
Wives Husbands
Frequency of attending services .86 .88
Frequency of attending religious meetings .80 .80
In times of trouble, I can depend on my .73 .72 church or synagogue
Importance of peace of mind in religion .74 .77
Frequency of participation in religious .72 .65 groups
Going to church is usually not a satisfying . 66 .68 experience (reversed scoring)
Spouse's importance of peace of mind in .62 .56 religion
Frequency of talking about religion .62 .62
Frequency of prayer .57 .71
Frequency of seeing clergy .55 .42
Number of religious group memberships .42 .45
Based on unrotated Factor I, principal factor analysis with iterations 66
Table IV Factor Loadings on Religiosity Items Among Catholic Wives (N=330) and Husbands (N=261).
Religiosity Items Factor Loadings Wives Husbands
Frequency of attending mass .77 .87
Frequency of taking communion .77 .80
Importance of peace of mind in religion .74 .74
In times of trouble, I can depend on my .71 .69 church or synagogue
Going to church is usually not a satisfying .70 .69 experience (reversed scoring)
Frequency of participation in religious .67 .66 groups
Frequency of talking about religion .58 .60
Spouse's importance of peace of mind in .58 .60 religion
Frequency of attending religious meetings .55 .56
Frequency of seeing clergy .42 .36
Number of religious group memberships .36 .39
g Based on unrotated Factor I, principal factor analysis with iteration. 67
Catholics, while such items as attending services, praying, and seeing
clergy were used for non-Catholics. However, some identical items were also used for both groups.
Religiosity Items and Abortion Attitudes
The measures of religiosity presented above incorporate both objective and subjective dimensions. Both of these dimensions reflect the way religiosity is carried out in everyday life. When each of these dimensions is taken separately and related to measures of abortion attitudes, it is possible to evaluate the strength not only of the one combined measure of religiosity, but also the strength of the indi vidual religiosity items.
To explore further the relationship of each religiosity item to abortion attitudes, the correlation of each item with tolerance of abortion and perceived disadvantages of abortion for wives and husbands was analyzed. These correlations are presented in Tables V and VI.
Table V reveals that all the religiosity items are significantly cor related in an inverse relationship with the tolerance of abortion, except for one item (i.e., wives: frequency of participation in religious groups). For both the subjective and objective dimensions, the slightly stronger relationship between religiosity items and tolerance of abortion for the wives, as opposed to husbands, is reflected in the correlation coefficients.
An additional finding seen in Table V is that the similar strength of both religiosity dimensions in relation to the tolerance of abortion variable supports the importance of both dimensions as measures of religiosity. Thus, the use of both dimensions in this research enhances 68
Table V Correlation Between Religiosity Items and Tolerance of Abortion Scale for Wives (N=610) and Husbands (N=610).
Religiosity Items Tolerance of Abortion Wives Husbands
Objective Religiosity r r
Non-Catholic: attend services frequently -.34 ** ** _.17 ***
Non-Catholic: frequency of prayer -.25 *** _.21 ***
Non-Catholic: frequency of attending -.25 *** -.18 *** religious meetings
Catholic: frequency of attending mass -.25 *** -.34 ***
Non-Catholic : frequency of seeing clergy -.22 *** -.17 *
Catholic: frequency of seeing clergy -.22 *** -.14 *
Frequency of talking about religion _.22 -.10 **
Catholic : frequency of taking communion -.20 *** -.26 ***
Catholic: frequency of attending -.17 *** -.15 * religious meetings
Number of religious group memberships -.15 *** -.10 **
Frequency of participation in -.01 -.18 * religious groups
Subjective Religiosity
Going to church is not a satisfying -.30 *** -.21 *** experience (reversed scoring)
Importance of peace of mind in religion -.30 *** -.24 ***
In times of trouble, I can depend on my -.24 *** -.18 *** church or synagogue
Spouse's importance of peace of mind in religion -.18 *** -.18 ***
^Significant at the .05 level **Sigriificant at the .01 level ***Significant at the .001 level 69.
Table VI Correlation Between Religiosity Items and Perceived Dis advantages of Abortion for Wives (N=610) and Husbands (N=610)
Religiosity Items Perceived Disadvantages Wives Husbands
Objective Religiosity
Catholic: frequency of attending mass .26 *** .29 AAA
Frequency of talking about religion .24 *** .15 AAA
Non-Catholic: attend services frequently .22 *** .25
Catholic: frequency of taking communion .22 AAA .25 AAA
Catholic: frequency of attending .19 aJL Ja. a. .10 * religious meetings
Non-Catholic: frequency of prayer .18 AAA .21 JaL a4. -aU
Non-Catholic: frequency of attending .17 AAA .21 JnL JnL 4. religious meetings
Non-Catholic: frequency of seeing clergy .16 A A .09 JL
Catholic: frequency of seeing clergy .15 J✓sL JzLs .14 ✓s
Number of religious group memberships .12 AAA .09 A
Frequency of participation in religious .02 .03 groups
Subjective Religiosity
Importance of peace of mind in religion .35 A** .34 AAA
Going to church is not a satisfying ,28 *** ,28 *** experience (reversed scoring)
In times of trouble, I can depend on my ,28 *** ,27 *** church or synagogue
Spouse's importance of peace of mind ,20 *** ,22 *** in religion
*Significant at the .05 level **Significant at the .01 level ***Significant at the .001 level 70.
the credibility of the religiosity measure.
The correlation between religiosity items and perceived disadvantages
of abortion suggests conclusions similar to those reached in relation to
the tolerance of abortion measure. Ih Table VI, all of the religiosity
items correlate significantly with the perceived disadvantages of
abortion, except for the frequency of participation in religious groups
(for both wives and husbands). Also, as shown empirically, both of the religiosity dimensions can be considered to be equally important in the
conceptualization of the religiosity variable.
In summary, the dependent variable, abortion attitudes was measured by two scales, the tolerance of abortion and the perceived disadvantages of abortion. Mean scores for each of the items in these scales reflected the strength of the item in measuring abortion attitudes. To develop the independent variable of religiosity, items of a religious content were factor analyzed for both Catholics and non-Catholics and then correlated with the two measures of abortion attitudes. The following chapter will provide further exploration of the relationship between religiosity and abortion attitudes with other social and demographic variables taken into account. CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS OF DATA AND FINDINGS
There are four research problems which, are the focus? of this
analysis. The first deals with the effects on abortion attitudes of
such social and demographic variables as religious identification,
gender, education, parity, and expected family size. The constantly
changing nature of society makes investigation of these, variables rele
vant to understanding the current status of abortion attitudes. The
second problem involves the relationship between social and demographic
variables and abortion attitudes when levels of religiosity are con
sidered. The third problem involves the effects of religiosity on
abortion attitudes when social and demographic variables are controlled.
The focus of the final problem is on the separable and combined effects
of predictor variables on abortion attitudes. Since each of the major
social and demographic variables, along with the religiosity variables, have been studied in relation to abortion attitudes, the question of which of these variables are the stronger indicators of abortion is of
interest for investigation.
Abortion attitudes have been conceptualized into two dimensions,
tolerance of abortion and perceived disadvantages of abortion. The above research problems will be discussed within the context of these two abortion measures. The tolerance of abortion measure was based on an assessment of conditions under which the termination of a pregnancy
71 72
would be approved. There are a variety of such conditions, and this measure provides a summary accounting of them. The second measure looks
at the perceived disadvantages of abortion and is based on the number and severity of disadvantages as perceived by respondents.
Within the two abortion dimensions, separate findings are pre sented for wives and husbands. Separate analyses are necessary for understanding the dual realities of a couple relationship in making decisions regarding abortion. Common sense notions suggest that, despite the shared responsibility of the pregnancy within a family, the costs in having an abortion (i.e., physical, emotional, mental) are different for wives than husbands since wives more directly experience the abortion. Thus, separate consideration of each spouse’s attitudes toward abortion is important. Since these couples are in the early stages of family formation, knowledge of their abortion attitudes pro vides additional insight into the decision-making processes related to fertility behavior, an area of rational planning which is particularly relevant to this group.
Tolerance of Abortion
When the effects of social and demographic variables on the toler ance of abortion are evaluated in the context of the first research problem, the husbands consistently were found to be more tolerant of abortion than the wives. Although the obtained differences between the two sexes were not statistically significant, the mean scores reflected 73
Table VII Mean Scores on Tolerance of Abortion by Religious Identifi cation, Education, Rarity, and Expected Family Size for Wives and Husbands.
Tolerance of Abortion2
Wives Husbands Sig. Level^
Religious Identification
Non-Catholic 3.95 4.06 ns (N-368) (N=397)
Catholic 2.87 3.10 ns (240) (212)
P (F Ratio) .001 .001
Education
High School or Less 3.29 3.49 ns (292) (240)
Attended College 3‘. 74 3.88 ns (316) (370)
P (F Ratio) • 01 .05
Parity
Zero 4.05 4.36 ns (223) (223)
One 3.43 3.52 ns (242) (242)
Two or More 2.88 3.08 ns (144) (144)
P (F Ratio) .001 .001
Exoected Family Size
Zero or One 4.49 4.71 ns (69) (56)
Two 3.69 3.85 ns (316) (331)
Three or More 2.95 3.29 ns (220) (221)
P (F Ratio) .01 .001
aThe higher mean scores reflect a greater tolerance of abortion. ^The significance level is based on a two-tailed test, using an adjusted T formula. .74
greater tolerance of abortion on the part of the husbands than the wives
for all paired comparisons.
Religious identification differences indicated that the Catholics
were more conservative in their abortion attitudes than the non-Catholics
of both sexes. The non-Catholic husbands were the most tolerant of
abortion (mean-4.06), while the Catholic wives were the most conserva
tive in their attitudes (mean-2.87). The importance of the religious
identification variable is further reflected in the finding that,
although Catholic husbands were more liberal than the Catholic wives
in their abortion attitudes, they were not as liberal as the non-
Catholic wives. Apparently, there are still significant differences
in abortion attitudes between Catholics and non-Catholics despite other studies which have found only slight differences between the two groups
(Blake, 1971). Thus it appears that religious identification is a stronger predictor of attitudes toward abortion than is gender.
However, knowing both an individual’s gender and religious identification enhances predictability of that individual's stance toward abortion.
Level of educational achievement is also an important predictor of abortion attitudes among couples. Both males and females who had attended college were more tolerant of abortion than those with a high school education or less. The largest difference in abortion attitudes was found between those husbands having attended college and those wives having obtained a high school education or less. 75
The liberalizing effect of the college experience is also demonstrated by the fact that the husbands with only a high school education or less
(mean=3.49) were not as tolerant as the wives who had attended college
(mean=3.74). Thus, education appears to be a more powerful predictor of abortion attitudes than gender.
One of the family formation variables associated with the toler ance of abortion attitudes is parity. Parity was trichotomized into categories of zero, one, and two or more. An inverse relationship between actual parity and tolerance of abortion was found. Those couples who had no children were more accepting of abortion than were those couples who had already started their childbearing.
A second family formation variable which has bearing on tolerance of abortion is expected family size. The measurement of expected family size has been trichotomized into categories of zero or one, two, and three or more. The results in Table VII show that among both wives and husbands, there was a significant difference between those expecting smaller family sizes compared to those expecting larger family sizes. The husbands who expected a family size of zero or one were more tolerant of abortion than the wives who expected a family size of zero or one. However, both wives and husbands who expected a small family size were more tolerant of abortion than those who desired larger families. The larger the desired family size, the less tolerant wives and husbands were of abortion practices. Thus, both present parity and expected family size are inversely correlated with 76
tolerance of abortion.
An important part of the present study is the religiosity dimen
sion as it relates to abortion attitudes. By trichotomizing relig
iosity into three levels (low, medium, and high), it was possible to
compare the mean scores on tolerance of abortion within the analytic
categories for both wives and husbands. The advantages of this
type of analysis in interpreting the data shown in Table VIII and
subsequent talbes is three-fold. First, it is possible to compare
abortion attitudes within three levels of religiosity for each ana
lytic category by reading across the table. Second, an understanding « of social and demographic variables as they relate to abortion atti
tudes is possible when levels of religiosity are held constant.
Finally, a combination of these two methods allows maximum contrast
of the data, by facilitating comparison within religiosity levels and
across analytical categories. Thus, this type of analysis enables
examination of the relationship between levels of religiosity, attitudes toward abortion, and social and demographic variables,
as posed in the second and third research problems.
The results presented in Table VIII indicate that when abortion attitudes were compared across all three levels of religiosity, the non-Catholics who were low in religiosity were the most tolerant of abortion while the Catholics of medium religiosity were the most 77
Table yilj, Mean Scores on Tolerance of Abortion by Religiosity, within Categories of Religious Identification, Education, Parity, and Expected Family Size Among Wives
Religiosity
Lw Medium High P . CF Ratio)
MEAN SCORES OF TOLERANCE OF ABORTION a
Religious Identification
Non-Catholics 4.41 4.11 3.36 .001 (N-132) (N-107) (N-129)
Catholics 2.63 3.47 2.41 .001 (63) (90) (87)
P CF Ratio) .001 .05 .001
Education
High School 3.41 3.62 2.85 .05 C102) (94) (96)
Attended College 4.30 4.0 3.08 .001 (93) (103) (120)
P (F Ratio) .01 ns ns
Parity
Zero 4.55 4.10 3.41 .01 (83) (69) (71)
One 3.47 4.01 2.86 .001 (74) (80) (88)
Two or More 2.97 3.10 2.63 ns (38) (49) (.57)
p' (.F Ratio) .001 .05 .05
Exnected Family Size
Zero or One 5.06 4.29 3.46 ns (32) (24) (13)
Two 3.93 3.96 3.25 .01 (108) (94) (114)
Three or more 2.95 3.44 2.48 .01 . (55) (79) (86)
P (F Ratio) .001 ns .01
aThe higher mean scores reflect a greater tolerance of abortion. 78
tolerant. When abortion attitudes were compared between non-Catholics
and Catholics, the non-Catholics were significantly more tolerant of
abortion at all levels of religiosity than were the Catholics, with
the greatest difference between the two occurring at the low religio
sity level. A consideration of all categories of the religious
identification variable reveals that non-Catholics low in religiosity
are the most tolerant of abortion while Catholics high in religiosity
are the least tolerant of abortion.
The effect of educational level on abortion attitudes when levels
of religiosity are considered also may be seen in Table VIII. Among
wives with a high school education or less, those of medium religio
sity are more tolerant of abortion than those at the other two levels
of religiosity. Comparison between the two educational groups reveals
that at each level of religiosity, those who have attended college are
more tolerant of abortion than those who have not. Thus, as suggested
earlier, the college experience appears to facilitate the liberaliza
tion of attitudes toward abortion (Hedderson et al., 1974). However,
education has a greater liberalizing effect among those who are low
in religiosity.
Review of the family formation variables, parity and expected
family size, reveals several interesting findings. Analysis of both variables indicates that those who are at both medium and low levels
of religiosity reflect the greatest tolerance of abortion. Thus, it appears that tolerance of abortion is not confined only to those low 79
in religiosity or outside the religious influence, but may also be
evidenced by individuals moderately involved in religion.
When the family formation variables are considered, with the
religiosity levels held constant, those desiring or having smaller
family sizes were more tolerant of abortion than those desiring or
having larger families. This finding supports the earlier research'
of Westoff (1978).
The greatest difference in abortion attitudes among wives can be
noted through combining the expected family size variable with reli
giosity. Wives who expect a family size of zero or one and are low
in religiosity were substantially more tolerant of abortion (mean=5.06)
than those wives expecting a family size of three or more and high in
religiosity (mean=2.48). The large discrepancy between the two groups
is indicative of the polarity which exists in relation to the abortion
issue.
Some additional observations regarding religiosity among the
family formation variables can be made. Wives with a family size of
two or more were not found to have significantly different attitudes
toward abortion when compared across religiosity levels. This was
also found to be the case for wives expecting a family size of zero
or one. It appears that religiosity has the least effect for the wives when they expect a small family, or when the family size is
large and already established.
To summarize the data on the wives, as shown in Table VIII, reli
giosity is inversely related to tolerance of abortion. This 80
relationship holds when analytic variables are added, with the excep
tion of those who are Catholic and those who have no more than a high
school education, an expected family size of two or more, and parity of
one or more. In addition, non-Catholics were more tolerant than Catholics
within each religiosity level, and those who had attended college were
more tolerant than those with a high school education or less within
each religiosity level. Analysis within the family formation var
iables provides only qualified support for the assumption that wives
low in religiosity are the most tolerant of abortion for all categories
considered.
As may be noted in Table IX, the data obtained from husbands generally reflected patterns similar to those obtained for wives.
In most cases, those who fell at the low end of the religiosity scale were more accepting of abortion. For example, members of both religious groups who were low in religiosity were more tolerant of abortion than those of medium and high religiosity. Also, the non
Catholic males were more liberal that the Catholic males at each level of religiosity, with religious identification controlled.
The influence of education on abortion attitudes is most apparent among college-educated husbands of low religiosity. They were found to be significantly more tolerant of abortion than the college-educated husbands of high religiosity. Abortion attitudes among those with a high school education or less do not differ significantly across the three levels of religiosity. When the low religiosity level is held constant, husbands who have attended college are significantly more 81
Table 12 Mean Scores on Tolerance of Abortion by Religiosity, within Categories of Religious Identification, Education, Parity, and Expected Family Size Among Husbands
Religiosity
Low Medium High P (F Ratio)
MEAN SCORES OF TOLERANCE OF ABORTION a
Religious Identification
Non-Catholics 4.43 4.04 3.41 .001 (N-196) (N-95) (N-106)
Catholics 3.25 3.22 2.80 ns (59) (87) (66)
P (F Ratio , .001 .01 ns
Education
High. School 3.54 3.72 3.24 ns CU3) (53) (74)
Attended College 4.63 3.62 3.12 .001 (.143) (129) (98)
P (F Ratio) .001 ns ns
Parity
Zero 4.84 4.09 3.88 .05 (98) (65) (60)
One 3.89 3.61 2.88 .01 (98) (79) (65)
Two or More 3.45 2.97 2.68 ns (60) (37) (47)
P (F Ratio) .001 .05 .01
Expected Family Size
Zero or One 5.29 3.29 4.91 .01 (31) (14) (ID
Two 4.12 3.93 3.27 .01 (155) (94) (82)
Three or More 3.74 3.36 2.81 .05 (69) (74) (78)
P (F Ratio) .001 ns .01
aThe higher mean scores reflect a greater tolerance of abortion. 82
tolerant of abortion than those who have only a high school education
or less. Abortion attitudes based on educational differences failed
to reach statistical sifnificance at medium and high religiosity
levels.
A review of the family formation variables is also presented in
Table IX. Based on the categories within the parity and expected
family size variables, those husbands lowest in religiosity were more
tolerant of abortion than those at the other two levels of religiosity.
Furthermore, husbands desiring a family size of one or no children who
are low in religiosity were the most tolerant of abortion for all of
the subgroups reviewed. This finding implies that husbands with small
family size preferences are more willing than those with large family
size preferences to tolerate abortion as one means of rationally con
trolling fertility behavior.
There are several general conclusions which can be drawn regarding attitudes toward abortion for wives and husbands by levels of reli giosity within independent categories. The data consistently indicate that husbands are more tolerant of abortion than wives, and both husbands and wives with smaller family sizes are more tolerant of abortion than those with larger family sizes regardless of level of religiosity. These findings support the earlier study of Renzi (1975) who found Catholics and Protestants with small family preferences to be more liberal on abortion conditions than their counterparts who preferred larger families. 83
Controlling for level of religiosity, both wives and husbands whose expected family size is zero or one were generally more tolerant of abortion than those with larger expected family sizes. In addition,
those couples who are childless also reflected a greater tolerance of abortion than families with one or more children. When religiosity levels were considered for both wives and husbands, those low in reli giosity were more tolerant of abortion than those reporting a high religiosity. An inverse relationship between religiosity and abortion attitudes is therefore supported.
An additional finding from Tables VIII and IX concerns the con vergence in abortion attitudes among the control variables at low levels of religiosity. The theoretical discussions in Chapter II suggested that those low in religiosity would be the most tolerant of abortion. This position can be explored with the present data. The findings in Tables VIII and IX reveal no convergence trends among any of the predictor variables when the levels of religiosity are con sidered. The scores for tolerance of abortion attitudes in religious identification, gender, and family formation categories do not converge any more at the low level of religiosity than at the other two reli giosity levels. Therefore, support for a convergence trend in toler ance of abortion among those of low religiosity is not upheld.
The previous research problem analyzed tolerance of abortion by comparing mean scores across three levels of religiosity within specific social and demographic variables. The final research problem combines religiosity and the social and demographic variables reviewed 84
above into a multiple classification analysis (MCA). The advantages
of this statistical procedure are two-fold. First, the MCA technique
allows one to compare the effects of independent predictors on the
dependent variable under uncontrolled and controlled conditions. In
the present study five independent predictors are included in the analysis:
religious identification, education, parity, expected family size, and
religiosity. The second advantage is that the MCA analysis allows one
to consider the separate effects of independent predictors on the tolerance
of abortion, after controlling for the effects of all other variables
(reported in the form of beta values).
In Table X, the relationship of the independent predictors to the tolerance of abortion scale for the wives is presented. The unad justed eta values reveal that religious identification (.29) is the most important predictor of abortion attitudes, followed by desired family size, parity, religiosity, and education (.26, .23, .21, .11, respectively).2 Also in Table X, the influence of all other analytic variables on each of the individual analytic variables is presented □ in the form of the beta values. When beta values are considered, religious identification continues to be the most influential variable in predicting abortion attitudes (beta=.25), while religiosity (beta=.19)
2 The eta value for each factor, when squared, indicates the propor tion of variance in the dependent variable which is explained or accounted for by that factor (Nie, et al., 1975:404).
The beta value provides a measure of the ability of the predictor to explain variabtion in the dependent variable after adjusting for the effects of all other predictors (Andrews, et al., 1973:7). 85
Table X Multiple Classification Analysis of Wife’s Tolerance for Abortion Using Religious Identification, Education, Parity, Expected Family Size, and Religiosity as Independent Variables (Grand Mean=3.51).
Unadjusted Adjusted Deviation Eta Deviation Beta
Religious Identification:
Non-Catholic (N=365) .45 .17
Catholic (N=237) -.70 .29 -.60 .25
Education:
High School or Less (N=290) -.29 -.18
Attended College (N=3I2) .20 .11 .16 .09
Parity:
Zero (N=218) .51 .25
One (N=240) -.09 .23 -.01 .12
Two or More (N=144) --63 -.35
Expected Family Size:
Zero or One (N=69) .98 .50
Two (N=314) .18 .26 .16 .16
Three or More (N=219) -.57 -.38
Religiosity:
Low (N-195) .32 .17
Medium (N=196) .28 .21 .36 .19
High (N=211) -.55 -.50
Multiple R = .432 Multiple R Squared = .187 86
emerges as the second most important variable. Thus, when both the eta and beta values are considered for all the variables, religiosity
is less important than religious identification as a predictor of tolerance for abortion among young married women.
Similar findings are presented for the husbands in Table XI.
The eta values distinguish parity (.24) as the single best predictor variable of abortion attitudes, while religiosity is the third most important predictor (eta=.2O). After controlling for the other independent effects, the beta values reveal that parity (.18) con tinues to be the strongest variable, along with religious identifica tion (.18). The religiosity variable (beta=.15), which was hypothesized to be the most significant of the independent variables on abortion attitudes, was third in importance behind religious identification and parity.
Overall, the findings in Tables X and XI reveal that religiosity is not the most significant predictor variable of the differentials in attitudes toward abortion, for either wives or husbands. Contrary to what was expected, religious identification is a better predictor of abortion attitudes than is religiosity.
Although previous studies have shown religiosity to have a signi ficant effect on abortion attitudes (Hertel, et al., 1974; Wagenaar and Knol, 1977), the present study has found that it does not have as great of impact as religious identification. Evidence showing the religious identification factor to be the strongest predictor variable of abortion attitudes supports the previous research of Balakrishnan, 87
Table XI; Multiple Classification Analysis of Husband's Tolerance for Abortion Using Religious Identifi cation, Education, Parity, Expected Family Size, and Religiosity as Independent Variables (Grand Mean=3.73).
Unadjusted Adjusted Deviation Eta Deviation Beta
Religious Identification:
Non-Catholic (N=395) .34 .27
Catholic (N=211) -.63 .22 -.51 .18
Education:
High School or Less (N=239) -.25 -.22
Attended College (N=367) .16 .10 .14 .09
Parity:
None (N=221) .64 .48
One (N=242) -.20 .24 -.16 .18
Two or More (N=143) -.65 -.47
Expected Family Size:
Zero or One (N=56) .98 .54
Two (N-329) .13 20 ,06 .10
Three or More (N=221) -.44 -.23
Religiosity: •
Low (N=254) .44 .31
Medium (N=181) -.06 .20 -.00 .15
High (N=171) -.57 -.46
Multiple R = .376 Multiple R Squared = .141 88
et al., (1972) and Leon and Steinhoff (1975). Despite research which
has suggested that religious identification differences are narrowing,
if not disappearing (Westoff and Jones, 1979), the present data
reestablishes the influence of the religious identification differen
tial in abortion attitudes. Differences between Catholic and non
Catholic positions on abortion among couples in the Toledo Metropolitan
area continue to exist despite speculation regarding convergence in
other fertility related areas.
Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion
The second measure of abortion attitudes deals with perceived
disadvantages of abortion. To measure this dimension, a "perceived
disadvantages" scale was constructed with the eight items included in
Table VI being factor analyzed and then combined to form a summed
factor score, with a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one.
The lower factor scores reflect fewer perceived disadvantages. The
tables presented in the remaining part of this chapter incorporate
the factor scale scores on the perceived disadvantages of abortion
measure.
Table XII provides an analysis of perceived disadvantages of
abortion by social and demographic variables for wives and husbands.
Two dominant trends were apparent. First, there were significant
differences between husbands and wives for each of the subgroups within
the analytical variables, except for those expecting a family size of
zero or one. Second, significant differences were found, for both wives and husbands between each of the subgroups for analysis. 89
Table 2X1 Mean Scores of Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion by Religious Identification, Education, Parity, and Expected . Family Size for Wives and Husbands.
Perceived Disadvantagesa
Wives Husbands Sig. Level13
Religious Identification
Non-Catholic .01 -.30 .001 (N-368) (N-397)
Catholic .40 .11 .001 (240) (212)
P (F Ratio) .001 .001
Education
High School or Less .25 -.02 .01 (292) (240)
Attended College .08 -.24 .001 (316) (370)
P (F Ratio) .05 .01
Parity
Zero -.10 . -.36 .01 (223) (223) .
One .32 -.05 .01 (242) (242)
Two or More .31 -.02 .001 (144) (144)
P (F Ratio) .001 .001
Expected Family Size
Zero or One -.46 -.59 ns (69) (56)
Two .20 -.24 .001 (316) (331)
Three or More .31 .06 .01 (220) (221)
P (F Ratio) .001 .001
aThe .lower ma an scores reflect fewer perceived disadvantages of abortion. bThe significance level is based on a two-called test, using an adjusted T formula. 90
Examining the religious identification variable, non-Catholic
wives and husbands were found to perceive fewer disadvantages of
abortion than Catholic wives and husbands. The non-Catholic husbands
perceived the least number of disadvantages of abortion (mean=-.30),
while the Catholic wives perceived the most disadvantages (mean=.4O).
This trend was similar to that found on the tolerance of abortion
measure. The large discrepancy between these two groups indicates
that the non-Catholic husbands view abortion with fewer apprehensions,
while the Catholic wives appear to continue from past tradition to
associate negative consequences with the act of abortion. Thus, both
gender and religious identification have predictive value in relation
to one’s attitude toward abortion; however, the combined information
of gender and religious identification is a stronger predictor than
either one separately.
Educational level was also an important predictor of the perceived
disadvantages of abortion. Those wives and husbands who had attended
college perceived fewer disadvantages of abortion than those with a high school education or less. Therefore, it appears that the influence of the college experiences serves to decrease the perception of nega tive consequences surrounding abortion.
When the family formation variable of parity was considered, an inverse relation between parity and perceived disadvantages of abor tion was found. Those couples who have not had any children were found to be more supportive of abortion than those couples who had already started their families. An inverse relationship between the 91
expected family size variable and perceived disadvantages of abortion
was also found. Those individuals who expect to maintain a small
family (e.g., zero or one) perceived fewer disadvantages of abortion
than those who desire larger family sizes (e.g., two, three or more).
The relationship of the analytic categories to the perceived dis
advantages of abortion can be summarized in the following manner.
Those groups most accepting of abortion are the non-Catholics, the
college-educated, those individuals who presently have small families, and those who expect to have small families.
When religiosity was considered, non-Catholic wives who were low in religiosity were found to be less likely to perceive disadvantages of abortion than those who were high in religiosity. The . general pattern that those low in religiosity perceived fewer disad vantages of abortion than those of medium or high religiosity is seen consistently throughout Table XIII.
When non-Catholics and Catholics were compared on the three levels of religiosity, there were significant differences between the two groups. The non-Catholics perceived fewer disadvantages of abortion than the Catholics at each religiosity level. Thus, the finding that non-Catholics are more tolerant of abortion than Catholics is further supported by the percieved disadvantages of abortion measure.
Differences between the levels of religiosity for the wives were found to be statistically significant at only one of the two educa tional levels. Among those wives with a high school education or less, there was a significant difference on the perceived disadvantage 92
Table. 2111 Mean Scores of Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion by Religiosity, within Categories of Religious Identification, Education, Parity, and Expected Family Size Among Wives
Religiosity .
■ Low Medium High P (F Ratio)
. MEAN SCORES OF PERCEIVED DISADVANTAGES a
Religious Identification
Non-Catholic -.20 -.04 .27 .001 (N-132) (N-107) (N-129)
Catholic .32 .33 .52 ns (63) (90) (87)
P (T Ratio) .001 .01 .05
Education
High. School .oi J .26 .48 .01 (102) (94) (96)
Attended College -.08 .00 .28 ns (93) (103) (120)
P (F Ratio) ns ns ns
Parity
Zero -.31 -.07 .12 .05 (33) (69) (71)
One .15 .26 .50 .05 (74) (80) (88)
Two or More .20 .20 .48 ns (38) (49) (57)
P (F Ratio) .01 ns .01
Expected Family Size
Zero or One -.70 -.35 -.08 ns (32) (24) (13)
Two .06 .17 .36 .05 (108) (94) (114)
Three or More .17 .26 .45 ns (55) (79) (36) 1
P (F Ratio) .001 .05 ns
^The lewert mean scores reflect fewer perceived disadvantages of abortion 93
measure across the three levels of religiosity. The wives who were high
on the religiosity scale were likely to perceive more disadvantages of
abortion than those who were low. This pattern also occurred for wives who have attended college, although it was not statistically significant.
When perceived disadvantages of abortion were compared between educational groups within each religiosity level, the differences were not statistical
ly significant. However, the scores do indicate that those who have attend ed college are less influenced by perceptions of negative consequences associated with abortion than those who have a high school education or less
The data for the family formation variable, parity, indicates that those wives with a family size of zero or one will perceive fewer disadvan tages of abortion when a low religiosity level exists, and perceive more disadvantages of abortion when a high religiosity level exists. Further more, the wives who do not have any children and are low in religiosity perceive fewer disadvantages in having an abortion in comparison to wives who have started their families and are high in religiosity.
Abortion attitudes did not vary significantly across levels of religiosity for those wives who expected family sizes of "zero or one" and "three or more." When the abortion scores on expected family size were considered among wives low in religiosity, those desiring zero or one child reflected the lowest score on the perceived disadvantages of abortion measure. These findings support the earlier conclusion that those individuals who wish to maintain a small family size tend to be more tolerant in their abortion attitudes, perhaps as one way or rational ly controlling family size. 94
The overall findings shown in Table XIII reflect an important
pattern among all of the analytic variables wThen religiosity levels are
considered for the wives. The scores for perceived disadvantages
of abortion for wives were found to be lower among those at the low
religiosity level than for those at a medium or high religiosity level.
The same type of analysis discussed above for the wives has been-
presented for the husbands (See Table XIV). Although findings for the
husbands are similar to that of the wives, there are several trends
which are noteworthy for husbands. First, husbands low in religiosity
were found to perceive disadvantages of abortion less strongly than
those high in religiosity. This inverse relationship was supported
among all of the analytical categories except for those husbands
expecting a family size of zero or one. Therefore, based on the
findings for both wives and husbands, the imprtance of the religiosity
variable as a determinant of abortion attitudes is supported.
Second, when the mean scores of perceived disadvantages for the
husbands were compared with those of the wives, the husbands were
generally found to perceive fewer disadvantages at each level of
religiosity under controlled conditions.
The previous section analyzed perceived disadvantages of abortion by comparing mean scores among social and demographic variables across
three levels of religiosity. To develop the research problem further,
a multiple classification analysis was used to analyze the relationship
of religiosity and the major analytical variables in relation to
perceived disadvantages of abortion. The same variables considered in 95
Table XIV Mean Scores of Perceived Disadvantages of Abortion by Religiosity, within Categories of Religious Identification, Education, Parity, and Expected Family Size Among Husbands
Religiosity
Low Medium High P - (F Ratio)
MEAN SCORES OF PERCEIVED DISADVANTAGES a
Religious Identification
Non-Catholics -.48 -.24 -.04 .001 (N=196) (N=95) (N=106)
Catholics -.10 .09 .35 .05 (59) (87) (66)
P (F Ratio) .01 .05 .01
Education
High School -.18 .01 .19 .05 (113) (53) (74)
Attended College -.56 -.12 .05 .001 (143) (.129) (.98)
? (F Ratio) .001 ns ns
Parity
Zero -.67 -.26 .02 .001 (.98) (65) (60)
One -.23 .10 .04 .05 (98) . (70) (65)
Two or More -.19 -.IS .32 .01 (60) (37) (47)
P (F Ratio) .001 .05 ns
Expected Family Size
Zero or One -.73 -.13 -.70 ns (.31) (14) (ID
Two -.41 -.17 .02 .001 (155) (.94) (82)
Three or More -.20 .04 .31 .01 (69) (74) (78)
P (F Ratio) .05 ns .01
^he lower mean scores reflect fe’mar perceived disadvantag es of abortion. 96
the first abortion measure were also used for the perceived dis advantages of abortion measure. The eta values In Table XV demonstrate that expected family size (eta=.26) is the single most influential predictor of perceived disadvantages of abortion. Although it was previously hypothesized that religiosity (eta=.19) would be the most influential variable, this was not supported. When the beta values were considered, expected family size continued to be the most important predictor variable with religiosity ranking third in importance. Thus, while religiosity is an important predictor, expected family size more clearly differentiates perceptions of the disadvantages of abortion.
The multiple classification analysis of the husband’;s perceived • - • • disadvantages of abortion is presented in Table XVI. Religiosity
(eta=.23) and religious identification (eta=.22) are of equal importance when individual effects on abortion are considered. A similar finding exists when each of the variables takes into account the effect of all of the other variables (beta values=.18). In other words, religiosity and religious identification share nearly equal effects on perceived disadvantages of abortion both when controlling for the analytic variables and when not controlling for them. In summary, it appears that religiosity is only one of several social variables which play an important role in determining abortion attitudes.
Overall, examination of the two abortion variables revealed several consistent findings. 1) Non-Catholics are more liberal in their abortion attitudes than Catholics. 2) Husbands are more liberal than wives in 97
Table XV Multiple Classification Analysis of Wife’s Per ceived Disadvantages of Abortion Using Religious Identification, Education, Parity, Expected Family Size, and Religiosity as Factors (Grand Mean=.16).
Unadjusted Adjusted Deviation Eta Deviation Beta
Religious Identification:
Non-Catholic (N=365) -.16 -.13
Catholic (_N=237) .24 .21 .20 .17
Education:
High. School or Less (N=290) .09 .07
Attended College (N=312) -.08 .10 -.06 .07
Parity:
Zero (N=218) -.26 -.14
One (N=240) .15 .22 .12 .13
Two or More (N=144) .15 .02
Expected Family Size:
Zero or One (N=69) -.63 -.44
Two (N=314) .03 .26 .05 .18
Three or More (N=219) .15 .07
Religiosity:
Low (N=195) -.20 -.14
Medium (N=196) -.03 .19 -.05 .15
High (N-211) .21 .18
Multiple R - .377 Multiple R Squared = .142 98
Table XVI Multiple Classification Analysis,: of Husband's. Perceived Disadvantages' of Ahoption Using ReJL.igiQus Identification, Education, Parity-, Expected Family- Size, and Religiosity as> Factors (Grand Mean=.16).
Unadjusted Adjusted Deviation Eta Deviation Beta
Religious Identification:
Non-Catholic (N=395) -.15 -.12
Catholic (N=211) .27 .22 .22 .18
Education:
High School or Less (N=239) .14 .15
Attended College (N=367) -.09 .12 -.10 .13
Parity:
Zero (N=221) -.21 -.12
One (N=242) .11 .21 .09 .14
Two or More (N=143) .14 .05
Expected Family Size:
Zero or One (N-56) -.42 -.27
Two (_N=329) -.08 ,21 -.05 .14
Three or More (N=221) .22 .14
Religiosity:
Low (N=254) -.23 -.18
Medium (N=181) .07 .23 .04 ,18
High (N=171) ,27 ,22
Multiple R = .382 Multiple R Squared = .146 99
abortion attitudes. 3) When education levels are considered, those who have attended college are more liberal on both abortion measures
than those with less education. 4) The family formation variables
reveal that small family sizes are associated with liberal abortion
attitudes, while large family sizes are accompanied by more conservative
abortion attitudes.
Both abortion measures have provided a basis for exploring the primary areas of interest in this study. First, the relationship be tween religiosity and abortion attitudes was reflected as an inverse relationship. Second, convergence of abortion attitudes between analytical subgroups within levels of religiosity was not supported.
Therefore, support for the convergence hypothesis was not obtained.
Third, when five social and demographic variables were analyzed for their importance as predictors of abortion attitudes, religiosity was not the primary predictor variable as had been anticipated, although it was found to be one of several strong indicators of attitudes toward abortion. CHAPTER V
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of the study has been to analyze the. re.lp.t,lQns?h.ip
between religiosity and abortion attitudes?, test for the convergence
of abortion attitudes among various subgroups in the population at
three levels of religiosity, and test the predictability of abortion
attitudes by religiosity when controlling for other social variables.
Using data collected from 610 couples on the Toledo Metropolitan
area, an analysis of the two variables has been conducted and the re
sults analyzed in terms of the theoretical framework of a secularization
trend, a rationality-utility model, and a convergence hypothesis. This
chapter presents a summary of the findings, the limitations of the study,
and suggestions for future research.
Religiosity and abortion attitude measures were developed and the
relationship between the two dimensions was tested. An inverse relation
ship for both wives and husbands was found. In other words?, those
individuals low in religiosity were found to be more accepting of abortion
than those high in religiosity. This finding was supported when religiosity items were correlated with both abortion measures, as well as when attitudes toward abortion were analyzed on three levels of religiosity. The. present finding is consistent with previous research
(Balakrishnan, et al., 1972; Clayton and Tolone, 1973; Wagenaar and Knol,
1977),.
Testing for convergence in abortion attitudes for various? population
100 101
subgroups- by level of religiosity revealed that rating low- in religiosity'
does not lead to a convergence. in abortion attitudes between Catholics
and non-Catholics, -males? and females, persons- having attended college,
and persons having attended high, school or less?, A comparison pf mean
scores? revealed no pattern of convergence in abortion attitudes among
subgroups at any pf the three religiosity levels.. Although previous
research has found convergence in various areas of fertility' behavior (e.g.,
contraceptive usage) between religious subgroups (Westoff and Jones?, 19.77),
there is no apparent trend of convergence in abortion attitudes when
religiosity levels are considered regardless of religl.ous? affiliation.
The inclusion of control variables in the present study has pro
vided additional understanding of influences on the dependent variable,
abortion attitudes. The first control variable, religious identifica
tion, suggests that distinct differences in abortion attitudes exist
between religious subgroups in the population. Throughout the study, the
non-Catholics were found to be more liberal in their abortion attitudes
than the Catholics. This finding is true for both abortion measures
(tolerance of abortion and perceived disadvantages of abortion). Thus,
it seems that traditional differences between the two religious groups
on abortion attitudes continue to exist, despite findings that they may
be converging in other fertility-related activities (Westoff and Jones, ' '
1977),
Gender differences? have a significant impact on abortion attitudes.
When hpth abortion measures were used to compare gender differences, the
husbands, showed a consistent trend of being more liberal in their abortion
attitudes than the wives. Because the data for husbands- and wives were 102
analyzed separately, it was possible to make gender comparisons through
out the entire study. In all of the tables where gender comparisons were
made, a more liberal abortion position was found for husbands compared
to the more conservative position of the wives. These findings provided
support for the research literature which suggested that women are more
conservative than men in their attitudes toward abortion (Blake, 1971;
Rao and Bouvier, 1974; Tedrow and Mahoney, 1979).
Gender differences also provide some understanding regarding the
convergence hypothesis. In relationship to the literature regarding
contemporary social changes in sex roles (Scanzoni, 1975) and testing
of convergence between the sexes (Tomeh, et al., 1979), the present find
ings suggest that gender differences continue to exist when abortion
attitudes are considered. Although differences between the wives and husbands were not statistically significant for the tolerance of abortion, the husbands consistently reflected a more liberal attitude
than the wives. Similar results were obtained using the perceived disadvantages of abortion measure; however, the differences here were statistically significant. Support for convergence in abortion attitudes between wives and husbands is therefore unfounded.
Analysis of the two abortion attitude measures indicates that educa tion has an influential effect. There was a consistent pattern which reflected that those who have attended college are more liberal in their abortion attitudes than those who have a high school education or less.
This finding is not surprising in that individuals who attend college are exposed to new ideas and philosophies, which lead to liberalization of previously held positions (Blake, 1971; Balakrishnan, 1972; Hedderson, 103
et al., 1974; Jones and Westoff, 1972; McIntosh and Alston, 1971; Tedrow
and Mahoney, 1979).
The two variables used to measure the family formation dimension were
expected family size and parity. For these two variables, family size was
operationalized from zero (wanting no children) to three or more. When the
tolerance and perceived disadvantages of abortion measures were considered
in relation to both family formation variables, it was found that those
with low family size preferences were more supportive of abortion than
those with larger family size preferences. It appears that those with
smaller family size preferences assume abortion attitudes which are a
reflection of the rationality-utility model, i.e., support for rational
'decision-making and rational control of life situations such as a birth.
One can interpret this finding as suggesting that as the uniqueness of
human life is recognized in children who are already a part of the family,
there is less support for aborting any other potential personalities.
Although there are a multiplicity of influences on abortion attitudes,
the present study examines five independent predictor variables of
abortion attitudes (religiosity, religious identification, gender,
education, parity, and expected family size) . Analysis of the two abortion measures revealed no one dominant predictor variable but instead
indicated that several factors play an influential role in the formation of abortion attitudes. For the tolerance of aborion measure, religious identification was the most significant variable for the wives (eta=.29) while parity (eta=.24) was the most significant variable for the husbands.
The perceived disadvantages of abortion was most strongly influenced by the expected family size (eta=.26) for the wives and religiosity (eta=.23) 104
for the husbands. Thus, religiosity was found to be most significant as
a predictor of abortion attitudes only among husbands in their perceived
disadvantages of abortion.
This study does not fully support previous findings that religiosity
is the most influential factor in determining abortion atttiudes
(Balakrishnan, et al., 1972; Clayton and Tolone, 1973; Finner and Gamache,
1969; Hedderson, et al., 1974). While religiosity is one of several
strong indicators of abortion attitudes, religious identification
appears to be a more important predictor of abortion attitudes.
Several other interesting conclusions can be drawn from the data.
One of these is that the religious identification and family formation
variables are generally the most significant predictor variables. When
both eta and beta values are considered, except husband’s perceived
disadvantages, religious identification is a stronger predictor of abortion
attitudes than religiosity. One explanation of this reveral could be
that the official opposition to abortion by the Catholic Church
continues to influence Catholics to act accordingly, regardless of their
level of religiosity. Thus, Catholics as a whole tend to assume a much
more conservative position than the non-Catholics, and this is still
continuing despite indications that more Catholics are publicly opposed
to many of the Church’s positions,
. The family formation variables also emerged as strong predictors
of abortion attitudes. When the eta values were considered, both parity
and expected family size variables were stronger predictors of abortion
attitudes than religiosity, except for the husband’s perceived dis
advantages of abortion. Throughout the study, the role of a rratioaal-utility'approach as7part 'of a secularization trend was
reflected by the impact of the family formation variables as opposed to 105
religiosity. Religious values which once stressed, the sanctity' of life, regardless of the inconvenience to the parents and the home, hays recently given way to a more utilitarian approach to family planning,
The increased importance of being able to rationally control one's destiny, with emphasis on issues of economics and convenience? is a significant transition from the once, strongly held adherence, to issues of a religious or moral nature. Although religiosity does play a role in influencing individuals' abortion attitudes, identification with a particular religious group and subsequent adherence, to the group's stance is a more powerful predictor of one’s abortion attitudes than is level of religiosity.
Overall, the findings of this study contribute to the theoretical explanations of abortion attitudes by providing support for the secularization trend and rationality-utility model; however, they fail to support the convergence hypothesis. The finding that those individuals who are low in religiosity are the most accepting of abortion provides support for the notion of the increasing influence of secularization.
As secularization increases, the basis for determination of attitudes shifts away from religiosity to include an element of rationality and decision-making based on such factors as utility and convenience. As secularization occurs and individuals attempt to control more aspects of their lives, abortion becomes more acceptable. The relationship between secularization and abortion attitudes is one which will continue to gain in importance as long as human rationality is operating as a major force in decision-making,
Another theoretical idea considered is the convergence hypothesis. 1Q6
This concept was not supported in the present study. When abortion
scores were compared between the analytical subgroups on three levels
of religiosity, there was no support for convergence among the sub
groups. It appears that while convergence may occur in other fertility-
related areas (i.e., contraceptive usage), it has apparently not occurred
for attitudes toward abortion for this sample.
Limitations of the Study
One limiation of the study is the lack of longitudinal data to more adequately test the convergence hypothesis. The convergence
hypothesis was examined only Indirectly by comparing subgroups at given
levels of religiosity. A longitudinal study would have allowed
comparison of abortion attitudes over time and thus provided an opportunity
for evaluating the process of change.
A second limitation concerns the religious identification variable.
The non-Catholic position on abortion is not as unified as the official
Catholic position. Non-Catholic religious groups range from a strong liberal orientation to a strong conservative orientation. An ultra conservative non-Catholic group may parallel the anti-abortion position of the Catholics, while another non-Catholic group may strongly support abortion. Therefore, the interpretation of the non-Catholic findings must be understood within abbroad socio-religious framework.
The final limitation ;is that by the nature of the sample (i.e., white couples in the early years of marriage living in an urban area), the generalizations of the study are limited to a select group.; Thus, for example, social policy implications which might be drawn as a 107
result of these findings are therefore confined to those policy de cisions where, the characteristics of this sample are relevant.
Suggestions for Future Research
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QUESTIONS USED TO MEASURE THE VARIABLES IN THE STUDY
PART I. Listed below are significant issues about which there are differences in point of view. Since these issues are important ones, we wish to have your opinions about them. In marking this section, please forget about the "good" and the "bad," and simply present the facts as you see them. Beside each of the statements below, please check ( ) whether you strongly agree (SA), agree (A), disagree (D), or strongly disagree (SD). SA A D SD 2. Finding a purpose for living is as easy today as ever...... ( ) () () ( )
10. Sources of meaning and purpose are easy for most people to find...... () () () ()
48. Despite everything that is happening, the world is still basically a good and moral place...... () () ( ) ()
59. In times of trouble, I feel that I could really depend on my church or synagogue...... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
60. Hard work and a job well done are usu ally appreciated by other people ....() () () ()
64. To me personally, going to church is usually not a very satisfying experi ence ...... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
69. If I need a friend there is always someone I can turn to...... () () () ()
72. I have discovered a set of clear-cut goals and a satisfying purpose in life. .() () () ()
PART III. In this section we are interested in a series of items re lated to life styles and family size values.
3. Suppose you were able to choose over your entire lifetime the exact number of children you would have. How many would that be?
______number of children
115 -2- 116
8. Listed below are six different family size preferences. Select the number of children from "none" to "5 or more" that you would most prefer to have during your lifetime, and place a "1" beside it. Then place a "2" beside your second choice, a "3" beside your third choice, and so on until you have ranked all six possibilities in terms of your own preferences:
______None ______Three ______One ______Four ______Two ______Five or more
12 How many children do you really expect to have? ______number of children
PART V. In this section we are interested in your pregnancy experience and your feelings about any pregnancies you may have had.
11. Have you ever wanted an abortion but just didn't go through with it for some reason or another? (Husbands: Have you ever seriously considered your wife having an abortion?)
No .... ( ) Yes . . . . ( )
PART VI. As you know, abortion has been quite common and widespread in the United States for several years now. People still differ, however, in their attitudes toward abortion as a way of preventing unwanted births. In this part of the questionnaire we are interested in your opinions on this issue.
1. Below is a list of possible reasons why a woman might want to have an abortion. For each condition of pregnancy, check ( ) whether you personally approve or disapprove of abortion:
Approve Disapprove
The woman’s health is seriously endangered . . . ( ) ( )
The woman is unmarried ...... ( ) ( )
The woman has been raped ...... ( ) ( )
There is good reason to believe the child might be deformed ...... ( ) ( )
The couple cannot afford another child ...... ( ) ( )
The couple want another child, but not at that time ...... ( ) ( ) -3- 117
2. Below are several possible disadvantages of having an abortion. How important to you personally would each of these be? Please ( ) a response for each of the possible disadvantages of an abortion:
Very Somewhat Not An Important Important Important Disadvantage Disadvantage Disadvantage
It is morally wrong ( ) ( ) ( )
It is too embarrassing ( ) ( ) ( )
I would lose my self-esteem ( ) ( ) ( )
Family or friends would ( ) ( ) ( ) disapprove
It would be an admission ( ) ( ) ( ) of failure
It would be dangerous to ( ) ( ) ( ) my health
I might regret it later ( ) ( ) ( )
I would feel guilty ( ) ( ) ( )
PART VII. In this section we are interested in the size and composition of your family.
3. How many live births have you had, altogether? none . . . . ( ) one . . . . ( ) two . . . . ( ) three . . . ( ) four . . . . ( ) five or more . . ( )
PART XI. In this section we are asking about your memberships in various organizations as well as patterns of visiting with, friends and relatives.
1. Below is a list of several kinds of organizations to which some people in the Toledo area belong. Please indicate in the appropriate place how many organizations of each kind you belong to, about how often you participate, and whether or not you have ever been an officer: -íi- 118
For each kind of group: To how many do you How frequently do Have you ever been belong in this you participate in an officer of this kind of group? this kind of group? kind of group? (list the number) Often Rarely Never Yes No
a. Religious groups (e.g., Bible Society, Masons, Knights of Columbus, etc.)...... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
3. Below is a list of ways in which individuals sometimes parti cipate in religious activities. Please check for the appro priate religious group (non-Catholic or Catholic) about how often you participate in each of the several activities:
Few Times About Twice More Than Once For NON-CATHOLICS : Never a Year a Month Weekly a Week a. Go to religious services .... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) b. Pray at home . . ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) c. See minister/ rabbi about prob- lem...... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) d. Attend religious group meetings or activities . . . ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Few Times About Twice More Than Once For CATHOLICS: Never a Year a Month Weekly a Week e. Attend mass ,... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) f. Receive Holy ■ Communion . . . ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) g- See priest or nun about prob lems ...... ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) h. Attend church (parish) meetings and activities . ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
PART XII. In this section we are interested in the topics of communica- tion agreement and life plans.
1. As you know, different couples discuss different things with each other, and also differ in how much they agree with one another on specific issues. For each topic listed below please check -5- 119
how frequently you and your husband discuss it and then whether you think your ideas on the topic are generally "the same as" or "different from" those of your husband. Be sure to make two checks in the appropriate places for each of the topics listed.
Are your ideas on this topic about the Frequency of discussion? same as, or different from, Never Seldom Often Same as: Different from: Don’t know g. Religion ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
5. People differ a great deal in terms of what they want out of life. In terms of your own plans for the future, how important are the following? (Please check the degree of importance for each item.)
Very Somewhat Not Important Important Important h Finding peace of mind in religion ( ) ( ) ( )
PART XIII. In order to complete our study, we need the following census-type information for each person in our sample.
7. How much schooling have you completed?
8th grade or less . . . ( ) Some college . . . . ( ) Some high school . . . ( ) College graduate . . ( ) High school graduate . ( ) Post-graduate work . ( )
12. What is your present religious preference? None . . . . . ( ) Protestant . . ( ) Catholic . . . ( ) Jewish . . . . ( ) Other...... ( )