Just-word beliefs and community-level abortion stigma: An exploratory survey.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate whether belief in a just world is associated with community-level abortion stigma.

STUDY

DESIGN

From December 2020 to June 2021, we conducted a national U.S. survey of 911 adults using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Survey respondents completed both the Community-Level Abortion Stigma Scale and Global Belief in a Just World Scale. We used linear regression to evaluate the association between just-world beliefs, demographic characteristics, and community-level abortion stigma.

RESULTS

The mean Global Belief in a Just World Scale score was 25.8. The mean Community-Level Abortion Stigma Scale score was 2.6. The strength of just-world beliefs (β = 0.7), male gender (β = 4.1), a history of a previous pregnancy (β = 3.1), post college education (β = 2.8), and strength of religious beliefs (β = 0.3) were associated with higher community-level abortion stigma. Asian race was associated with lower community-level abortion stigma (β = -7.2).

CONCLUSIONS

After controlling for demographic characteristics, strong just-world beliefs were associated with higher community-level abortion stigma.

IMPLICATIONS: Understanding just-world beliefs may provide a potential target for stigma-reduction strategies.