Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
PhD in Women Studies, Humanities Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
2
Associate Professor, Department of Women Studies, Humanities Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
3
Assistant Professor of Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
4
Assistant Professor, Department of Women Studies, Humanities Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The decision to undergo induced abortion among women is the outcome of a complex interplay of various factors. This study was conducted with the aim of exploring the role of marital relationship quality in the process of decision-making and action regarding induced abortion from the perspective of women's lived experiences. This qualitative study, employing a descriptive phenomenological approach, was carried out in 2023. Using purposive sampling with maximum variation, 40 women with experience of induced abortion were selected from Alborz province. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step method.
The findings indicate that "spousal personality and behavioral incompatibilities," "emotional-communicative voids," and "deficiencies in spousal responsibility and commitment" gradually lead to a "lack of psychological-emotional security within the marital relationship." This insecurity casts the future in a shroud of ambiguity and fear, giving rise to a "sense of future insecurity," manifested as "anticipation of marital instability" and "fear of reproducing harm in the child." Furthermore, "weak foundations of marriage" resulting from "unreflective spouse selection" and "coercion and fundamental conflict at the onset of married life" have diminished the relationship's resilience.
In accordance with the findings, marital relationship dysfunction, as a decisive context, propels the individual toward the decision for induced abortion through three major mechanisms: psychological exhaustion, anticipation of a harmful future, and the constriction of the woman's agency. Consequently, it is recommended that preventive interventions focus on strengthening marital relationship resilience and providing counseling services for couples at risk.
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