Keywords

Abortion counseling; Informed consent (Medical law); Pregnancy -- Psychological aspects; Unwanted pregnancy

Abstract

Although current professional and public opinion support the right of the client to make an informed decision about entering and continuing in a psychotherapy or counseling relationship, research studying the effects of informed consent on client behaviors and attitudes in the medical, research, and mental health fields has resulted in equivocal findings. This study looked at the effects of an informed consent procedure on client behaviors and attitudes in a pro-life pregnancy counseling center where the center's primary goal is to reduce the number of abortion decisions among clients. Thirty of the center's clients (Experimental Group) were given an Informed Consent Sheet that explicitly stated the center's policies, procedures, and goals while another 30 clients {Control Group) were exposed to the center's regular procedures which did not include this Informed Consent Sheet. Results of subsequently administered questionnaires showed that there were no differences between groups regarding their stated intention to abort a potential pregnancy, nor were there any differences between groups on their attitudes toward their counselors and their counseling experience, in general.

Notes

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Graduation Date

1988

Semester

Spring

Advisor

McGuire, John M.

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree Program

Clinical Psychology

Format

PDF

Pages

56 p.

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0022741

Subjects

Arts and Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic; Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Sciences

Accessibility Status

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