Introduction
Women who choose to terminate a pregnancy may face stigma and psychological vulnerability. While self-efficacy and perceived social support are known as protective factors, stigma significantly increases risk of distress and symptoms. Investigating how these dimensions interrelate is crucial to inform interventions promoting resilience and well-being.
Purpose
This study examined whether perceived social support moderates the relationship between self-efficacy and post-traumatic symptoms, and explored the associations of abortion stigma with trauma-related distress.
Method
A sample of N = 115 women who terminated their pregnancy completed a digital battery including the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Individual Level of Abortion Stigma (ILAS), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21), and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 - Past Week Version (PCL-5). Moderation analyses were conducted with Hayes' PROCESS macro.
Results
Bivariate correlations showed that abortion stigma was positively associated with post-traumatic symptoms (PCL-5, p < .01) and psychological distress (DASS-21, p < .01). Neither self-efficacy (p = .28) nor social support (p = .11) displayed significant effects on trauma symptoms. However, their interaction was significant (p < .05). Therefore, moderation analyses were conducted to examine the role of self-efficacy in relation to levels of social support. Conditional effects revealed that self-efficacy was not protective at low social support, but reduced symptoms at medium (B = -1.10, 95% CI [-1.76; -0.43]) and high levels of support (B = -1.32, 95% CI [-2.12; -0.52]).
Conclusions
The results highlight abortion stigma as a relevant risk factor linked to both post-traumatic and general psychological distress. Moreover, self-efficacy emerged as a significant protective factor only when present adequate or high perceived social support. Together, these results underscore the need for interventions that simultaneously reduce stigma and strengthen both in individual and in relational resources.