نوع مقاله : پژوهشی

نویسندگان

• نیره احمدی ¹
• طوبی شاکری ²
• شهره روشنی ³
• مریم جمالی ⁴

¹ دانشجوی دکترای مطالعات زنان، دانشگاه تربیت مدرس

² دانشیار گروه مطالعات زنان، دانشکده علوم انسانی، دانشگاه تربیت مدرس، تهران، ایران.

³ استادیار گروه علوم اجتماعی، دانشکدۀ علوم اجتماعی و اقتصادی، دانشگاه الزهرا (س)، تهران، ایران

⁴ استادیار گروه مطالعات زنان، دانشکده علوم انسانی، دانشگاه تربیت مدرس، تهران، ایران.

چکیده

تجربۀ سقط جنین عمدی، زنان را هم در مرحله‌ی تصمیم‌گیری و هم در دوره‌ی پس از آن با موقعیتی تنش‌زا مواجه می‌سازد. هدف این پژوهش، شناسایی راهبردهای زنان در مواجهه با تجربۀ سقط جنین عمدی است. به این منظور، با اتخاذ رویکرد پدیدارشناسی توصیفی، مصاحبه‌های نیمه‌ساختاریافته‌ی عمیق با 40 زن دارای سابقه‌ی سقط جنین عمدی در استان البرز انجام شد و داده‌ها بر اساس روش هفت‌مرحله‌ای کلایزی مورد تحلیل قرار گرفت. یافته‌ها نشان می-دهد که زنان در مواجهه با تجربه‌ی سقط جنین عمدی، از راهبردهای متنوعی بهره می‌گیرند که این راهبردها را می‌توان در سه گروه اصلیِ «مسئله‌مدار»، «هیجان‌مدار» و «اجتناب‌مدار» دسته‌بندی نمود. راهبردهای «کوشش برای تغییر شرایط و عدم ارتکاب سقط»، «جستجوی مشروعیت»، «کنش‌های جبرانی»، و نیز راهبردهای «تأمل پیرامون ماهیت وجودی جنین»، «بازبینی نسبت به امکان تغییر شرایط و عدم ارتکاب سقط» و «ارزیابی امکان مقاومت در برابر فشار همسر» که ذیل مقوله‌ی «بازاندیشی» قرار می‌گیرند، مقابله‌ی مسئله‌مدارند. راهبردهای «واکاوی دشواری‌های منجر به سقط» و «تصویرسازی مسیر زندگی در صورت تولد فرزند» ذیلِ «بازاندیشی»، و همچنین «توبه و طلب مغفرت»، «سرزنشگری»، «اعتراف»، «توجیه‌گری» و «اسناد به تقدیر و شرایط بیرونی» به‌عنوان اشکالی از مقابله‌ی هیجان‌مدار شناسایی شدند. راهبردهای «پنهان‌کاری» و «اجتناب شناختی» نیز در زمره‌ی مقابله‌ی اجتناب‌مدار قرار می‌گیرند. نتایج پژوهش حاکی از آن است که زنان، بسته به شرایط، از ترکیبی از این راهبردها استفاده می‌کنند و این راهبردها در طول زمان و بر اساس تجارب زیسته‌ی آنان دستخوش تغییر می‌شوند.

کلیدواژه‌ها

• تجربه سقط جنین عمدی
• راهبردهای زنان
• پدیدارشناسی توصیفی

موضوعات

• مطالعات زنان

عنوان مقاله [English]

Women's strategies in dealing with the experience of intentional abortion: A phenomenological analysis

نویسندگان [English]

• Nayereh Ahmadi ¹
• Tooba Shakeri ²
• Shohre Rowshani ³
• Maryam Jamali ⁴

¹ PhD student in Women's Studies, Tarbiat Modares University

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

چکیده [English]

Childbearing, which takes place within the framework of the family institution, is considered a vital component in the sustainability of the human population. In recent decades, structural changes in the family institution and the decline in the marriage rate have had a direct impact on the decline in fertility indicators. In this regard, the phenomenon of intentional abortion, as a mediating factor, plays an aggravating role in the decline in the population growth rate by affecting fertility decisions. Regardless of the demographic effects of abortion, this phenomenon is essentially considered an independent and debatable issue due to its conflict with the fundamental and inherent right to life. Therefore, even in the absence of a population crisis, intentional abortion continues to be a serious challenge. Given the prevalence of intentional abortion and its individual, family, and social consequences, a comprehensive study of the dimensions of this phenomenon can play a decisive role in managing this problem. Intentional abortion, as a multidimensional crisis, places women in a complex situation of psychological tensions, moral conflicts, and social pressures, which leads to the adoption of diverse coping strategies. Analyzing these strategies, by providing a deeper understanding of the process of women's intentional abortion, will pave the way for the provision of preventive policies and targeted interventions to reduce the decision to have an abortion. Accordingly, the present study aimed to identify women's strategies in facing the experience of intentional abortion.

The present study was conducted with a qualitative approach and a descriptive phenomenological strategy. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to collect data regarding the experience of intentional abortion and how people coped with this experience. The duration of the interviews ranged from 45 minutes to 120 minutes. After the 36th interview, no new codes were added; however, to ensure saturation of the categories and to maximize the characteristics and dimensions of the categories, the research process continued for 40 interviews. Data analysis in this study was conducted using the Claise seven-step method, and data collection and analysis were performed simultaneously.

This study shows that women have different assessments of the situation when faced with the experience of intentional abortion and, under the influence of individual, family, social and cultural factors, use a combination of problem-focused, emotion-focused and avoidance coping strategies that are consistent with the theoretical models of Lazarus and Folkman (1984), Carver (1989) and Endler and Parker (1990). Problem-focused strategies are strategies that are actively and directly related to the issue of abortion. People who use problem-focused coping when faced with the tensions resulting from the experience of intentional abortion actively face the problem and address the situation, while trying to find a way to change the situation or avoid it in the future. In the present study, the strategy of “trying to change the situation and not having an abortion” with the aim of convincing the spouse or changing the situation in order to prevent an abortion represents active coping with the problem. The strategies of “reflecting on the existential nature of the fetus”, “reviewing the possibility of changing the circumstances and not committing an abortion”, and “evaluating the possibility of resisting the pressure of the spouse” under the category of “rethinking” refer to re-evaluating the situation in a positive way and are considered problem-oriented coping. The strategy of “seeking legitimacy” and the strategy of “compensatory actions”, which indicate the individual’s direct confrontation with the problem and not repeating the stressful situation in the future, are also problem-oriented coping. Emotion-oriented strategies include cognitive-behavioral efforts to reduce negative emotions and emotional turmoil. In this study, the strategies of “examining the difficulties leading to abortion” and “imagining the path of life in the event of the fetus being born” under the category of “rethinking”, “repentance and seeking forgiveness”, “blame”, “confession”, “justification”, “attribution to fate and external conditions” refer to efforts to reduce emotional inflammation and are considered emotion-oriented coping. Avoidance-based coping means not doing anything to deal with the problem and denying and ignoring the existence of any problem instead of dealing with the stressful situation at its root. In this study, the strategies of “hiding” and “cognitive avoidance” are types of avoidant coping. The combination of problem-based strategies such as “legitimacy seeking” and emotion-based strategies such as “blaming” shows that women struggle with resolving external conflicts and managing internal emotions at the same time.

In another division, the strategies used can be divided into two categories: pre-abortion strategies and post-abortion strategies. Based on the findings, a significant number of participants considered the failure of contraception to be a failure and decided to have an intentional abortion in the face of an unplanned pregnancy. These people had convinced their spouses to have an abortion if they did not agree to it. This group of women, mainly due to fear of opposition from those around them, had kept their decision to have an abortion hidden from their loved ones by adopting a strategy of “hiding.” On the other hand, there were also cases where women, despite their personal desire to keep the fetus, had faced opposition from their spouses. This group of participants had resisted forced abortion by employing the strategy of “trying to change the circumstances and not having an abortion.”



Another noteworthy point was the effort of some participants before the abortion, who had resorted to “seeking legitimacy” in order to reduce the guilt of their decision arising from the conflict between their decision and religious norms or to gain social support. In the post-abortion phase, the women were divided into two distinct groups by “rethinking” about the fetus, memories related to the abortion experience, and the circumstances leading to this decision. The first group, who had suffered from remorse, psychological turmoil, and feelings of guilt, mainly expressed regret for their decision and action. These individuals sought to heal the psychological damage caused by this experience by using the strategies of "confession" and "blame" through "repentance and seeking forgiveness" and performing "compensatory actions." In contrast, the second group, although they had suffered from mental distress and feelings of guilt, expressed no regret and evaluated their decision as the correct one in that particular situation. These individuals tried to maintain their psychological peace by using the strategies of "justification" and "attribution to fate and external circumstances" and considered the abortion to be inevitable in that particular context. In addition, a third group was identified who avoided any reflection and mental review of the abortion experience by adopting the strategies of "ignorance", "evading memories of the fetus due to belief in the correctness of the decision", and "suppressing memories of the abortion in order to reduce the guilt of conscience". Many participants used the strategy of "hiding" after the experience in order to escape social stigma and negative judgment from others.

کلیدواژه‌ها [English]

• Experience of intentional abortion
• women'؛ s strategies
• descriptive phenomenology