Unintended Pregnancy, Depression, and Hazardous Drinking in a Community-Based Sample of Sexual Minority Women

Overview

Journal J Womens Health (Larchmt)

Specialty Gynecology & Obstetrics

Date 2016 Mar 16

PMID 26977978

Citations 14

Authors

Bethany G Everett

Katharine F McCabe

Tonda L Hughes

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Context: Unintended pregnancy is a stressful life event with important implications for women's health. Little research has examined sexual minority women's (SMW; lesbian, bisexual, mostly heterosexual) experiences of unintended pregnancy, and no studies have examined the relationship between unintended pregnancy, mental health, and negative coping behaviors in this population.

Methods: We used the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women (CHLEW) Study (n = 454), a diverse sample of SMW, to examine the relationship between self-reported unintended pregnancy, depressive symptoms, and hazardous drinking. We used generalized linear model-building techniques and adjusted for key sociodemographic controls, as well as unintended pregnancy risk factors, including childhood physical and sexual abuse and age of sexual debut.

Results: Twenty-four percent of the sample reported an unintended pregnancy. SMW who reported unintended pregnancies also reported significantly more depressive symptoms and greater risk of hazardous drinking. Adjusting for childhood abuse explained the relationship between unintended pregnancy and depressive symptoms, but not the relationship between unintended pregnancy and hazardous drinking.

Conclusions: Unintended pregnancy among SMW is an understudied topic. Our results suggest that unintended pregnancy is not uncommon among SMW and highlight the need for more research to investigate the mechanisms that link unintended pregnancy to depression and to hazardous drinking within this population.

Citing Articles

Mental health and substance use among sexual minority women who report childhood sexual abuse: A systematic literature review.

Bochicchio L, Xu M, Veldhuis C, McTavish C, Hughes T Psychol Trauma. 2023; .

PMID: 37166921 PMC: 10638469. DOI: 10.1037/tra0001476.

Mothers' Sexual Identity and Children's Health.

Mollborn S, Limburg A, Everett B Popul Res Policy Rev. 2022; 41(3):1217-1239.

PMID: 35934998 PMC: 9355333. DOI: 10.1007/s11113-021-09688-x.

Is Periconceptional Substance Use Associated with Unintended Pregnancy?.

Lundsberg L, Pensak M, Gariepy A Womens Health Rep (New Rochelle). 2021; 1(1):17-25.

PMID: 33786469 PMC: 7784790. DOI: 10.1089/whr.2019.0006.

Pregnancy (im)possibilities: identifying factors that influence sexual minority women's pregnancy desires.

Carpenter E, Everett B, Greene M, Haider S, Hendrick C, Higgins J Soc Work Health Care. 2020; 59(3):180-198.

PMID: 32208846 PMC: 7784242. DOI: 10.1080/00981389.2020.1737304.

Sexual Orientation Disparities in Preconception Health.

Limburg A, Everett B, Mollborn S, Kominiarek M J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2020; 29(6):755-762.

PMID: 32105564 PMC: 7307698. DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2019.8054.

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