PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New research explores the red v. blue state knowledge about abortion

2014-08-18
(Press-News.org) A new national survey reveals that the political divide among red-versus-blue states does not support the hypothesis that knowledge about abortion and health is shaped by the state in which one lives. Research led by Danielle Bessett, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of sociology, was presented at the 109th Meeting of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco.

Bessett says that regardless of political viewpoints, only 13 percent of the 569 people polled in the national survey demonstrated high knowledge of abortion, correctly answering four or five questions. Seven percent mistakenly thought that abortion until 12 weeks gestation was illegal (another 11 percent didn't know if it was illegal or not).

More than half the sample (53 percent) reported living in a blue (considered liberal) state; 26 percent reported living in a red (considered conservative) state and 20 percent reported living in a "purple" state – swing states such as Ohio, in which Democrats and Republicans have strong support.

Although initial results showed some support for the red-versus-blue state divide when it came to abortion health knowledge (but not legal knowledge), this difference between states disappeared when researchers took into account individual-level characteristics, including respondents' political beliefs, their beliefs about whether abortion should be permitted and whether or not they knew someone who had an abortion.

"Because the issue of abortion is an exemplar of polarization, it provides a useful way to test the red states v. blue states hypothesis," write the authors. Bessett says she and her co-researchers found that their "data does not support the red-versus-blue state hypothesis: geography does not dictate the world views of Americans. Some individuals in all settings do have accurate information about abortion, regardless of political context."

An online questionnaire was administered to 586 randomly selected men and women ages 18 to 44 via SurveyMonkey Audience. The findings focused on answers from 569 respondents (91.7 percent of the sample) who were born in the U.S. Participants responded to five survey items related to knowledge about abortion health and one exploring legal knowledge about abortion:

Survey Questions

What percentage of women in the U.S. will have an abortion by age 45?

Correct answer: 33 percent

Percentage of respondents with correct answer: 41 percent

Which has a greater health risk: An abortion in the first three months of pregnancy or giving birth?

Correct answer: giving birth

Percentage of respondents with correct answer: 31 percent

A woman who has an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy is more likely to have breast cancer than if she were to continue the pregnancy.

Correct answer: disagree somewhat/disagree strongly

Percentage of respondents with correct answer: 37 percent

A woman who has an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy is more at risk of a serious mental health problem than if she were to continue that pregnancy.

Correct answer: disagree somewhat/disagree strongly

Percentage of respondents with correct answer: 31 percent

A woman having an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy is more likely to have difficulty getting pregnant in the future.

Correct answer: disagree somewhat/disagree strongly

Percentage of respondents with correct answer: 35 percent

Abortion during the first three months of pregnancy is legal in the U.S.

Correct answer: true

Percentage of respondents with correct answer: 83 percent

Based on their findings, the researchers conclude that men and women making sexual and reproductive health decisions may not be well informed about the relative safety and consequences of their choices, highlighting a need for the provision of better, more comprehensive and evidence-based sexual and reproductive health education.

Survey Demographics

Fifty-three percent (313) of the respondents were male; 47 percent (273) female; 49 percent reported an age between 18-29 and 51 percent reported being between 30-44; the majority of the respondents (78 percent) identified as white; 11 percent Hispanic; four percent black and seven percent identified as "other" race or ethnicity.

Thirty-seven percent described themselves as very or somewhat liberal, 38 percent felt they were moderate and 25 percent identified as somewhat or very conservative.

Forty-one percent did not affiliate with any religion, 16 percent identified as Catholic and 35 percent identified as Protestant. Twelve percent reported they had a personal experience with abortion and 65 percent reported knowing someone who had an abortion. Eighty-seven percent believed that in most instances, abortion should not be restricted.

INFORMATION: Additional authors on the paper are Caitlin Gerdts, an epidemiologist at University of California, San Francisco; Lisa Littman, an adjunct professor of preventative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital; Megan Kavanaugh, Guttmacher Institute; and Alison Norris, MD, assistant professor, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University.

The research was funded by an anonymous donor.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Applying new cholesterol guidelines to a patient population reduces heart attacks, strokes, study finds

Applying new cholesterol guidelines to a patient population reduces heart attacks, strokes, study finds
2014-08-18
DALLAS – August 18, 2014 – A study from UT Southwestern researchers found that recently introduced cholesterol guidelines would significantly reduce new cardiovascular events, when compared to treatment based on previous cholesterol guidelines. The research identified Dallas Heart Study participants in the 30 to 65 age range who would have newly qualified for statin use under the new cholesterol guidelines introduced in 2013 by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA). In this subset of patients, the study predicted that 3.6 ...

Red eye feels endless? Blame the internet

2014-08-18
Once upon a time people planned their vacations by booking flights and hotel at local travel agencies. But with the Internet launching of hundreds of online flight vendors, travel agencies have virtually disappeared into the ether — and shorter flights have disappeared with them. In a study scheduled for publication in The Review of Economics and Statistics, Dr. Itai Ater of Tel Aviv University's Recanati Business School and Dr. Eugene Orlov of Compass Lexecon examine how the Internet has affected performance and product quality in the airline industry, especially flight ...

Ten-hut: New discoveries on how military organization affects civilians

2014-08-18
Researchers are reporting new discoveries about how militarization affects the general, civilian population, and the biggest positive impact is adequate sanitation and access to education. The research led by Steve Carlton-Ford, professor and head of the University of Cincinnati Sociology Department, was presented at the 109th meeting of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco. Pooling data from UNICEF, the World Bank, the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO) the Integrated Network for Societal Conflict Research and the Quality of Government Institute, ...

Dress for success: Research examines male influences on 'looking' middle class

2014-08-18
They might be called a chip off the old block, but when it comes to upward social mobility, they might call Dad a lesson in what not to wear. University of Cincinnati research takes a new approach to examining the socialization of male children into the middle class. The research by Erynn Masi de Casanova, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of sociology, was presented at the 109th Meeting of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco. Based on interviews with 71 male, white-collar workers in three major metropolitan cities, Casanova explores how ...

Family members of victims pose a growing challenge for capital punishment

2014-08-18
An examination of the nation's history in carrying out executions is encountering a new challenge for modern-day capital punishment. Bringing in family members of victims to witness executions brings about a new source of pressure on the execution, complicating actual execution arrangements and the position of capital punishment in the public imagination, according to Annulla Linders, a University of Cincinnati associate professor of sociology. Linders' research, titled, "Bearing Witness: Victim's Relatives and Challenges to the Execution Narrative," was presented at ...

Rheumatologic diseases like lupus can initially look like neurological disorders

2014-08-18
MAYWOOD, Ill. – Lupus and other rheumatologic diseases can initially present as neurological disorders such as headaches and seizures, and thus delay diagnosis for many months, according to Loyola University Medical Center neurologists. Moreover, treatments for rheumatologic disorders can cause adverse neurological effects, Dr. Sean Ruland and colleagues report in the journal Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports. Rheumatologic diseases include autoimmune and inflammatory disorders of the joints and soft tissues, such as lupus, systemic vasculitis and ankylosing ...

Despite academic achievement, pay gaps likely continue between the races

Despite academic achievement, pay gaps likely continue between the races
2014-08-18
A nationally representative comparison of salary, academic achievement and race finds that racial and gender inequality continue to exist regardless of academic success. The study by Ervin (Maliq) Matthew, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of sociology, was presented at the 109th Meeting of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco. Matthew's research paper, titled"Making the (Pay) Grade: Racial Variance in Financial Payoff to Academic Success," examined data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey from 1988-2000. The study followed approximately ...

Life after prison: Sociology professor presents findings on research

2014-08-18
Todd Callais, an assistant professor of Sociology at UC Blue Ash College, presented his findings on how ex-inmates cope with life after prison at the American Sociological Association (ASA) Annual Meeting, held August 16–19 in San Francisco. As part of his three-year research for a new book, Callais conducted in-depth interviews with a total of 60 ex-offenders, but he focused specifically on 13 former inmates for his presentation, titled Ex-offenders and Stigma Management: Redemptive Contestation. Roughly two-thirds of former inmates in the U.S. eventually return to ...

Recycling old batteries into solar cells

2014-08-18
CAMBRIDGE, Mass-- This could be a classic win-win solution: A system proposed by researchers at MIT recycles materials from discarded car batteries — a potential source of lead pollution — into new, long-lasting solar panels that provide emissions-free power. The system is described in a paper in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, co-authored by professors Angela M. Belcher and Paula T. Hammond, graduate student Po-Yen Chen, and three others. It is based on a recent development in solar cells that makes use of a compound called perovskite — specifically, organolead ...

Study reveals sex differences in experiencing orgasms

2014-08-18
Among single adults in the U.S., women, regardless of sexual orientation, have less predictable, more varied orgasm experiences than do men, new research indicates. The study revealed that men experience orgasm during sexual activity with a familiar partner 85% of the time on average, compared with 63% of the time for women. The Journal of Sexual Medicine study also found that for women, but not men, the likelihood of orgasm varies with sexual orientation, with lesbian women having a significantly higher probability of orgasm than either heterosexual or bisexual women ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New strategies to enhance chiral optical signals unveiled

Cambridge research uncovers powerful virtual reality treatment for speech anxiety

2025 Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit to spotlight groundbreaking research

International survey finds that support for climate interventions is tied to being hopeful and worried about climate change

Cambridge scientist launches free VR platform that eliminates the fear of public speaking

Open-Source AI matches top proprietary model in solving tough medical cases

Good fences make good neighbors (with carnivores)

NRG Oncology trial supports radiotherapy alone following radical hysterectomy should remain the standard of care for early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer

Introducing our new cohort of AGA Future Leaders

Sharks are dying at alarming rates, mostly due to fishing. Retention bans may help

Engineering excellence: Engineers with ONR ties elected to renowned scientific academy

New CRISPR-based diagnostic test detects pathogens in blood without amplification

Immunotherapy may boost KRAS-targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer

Growing solar: Optimizing agrivoltaic systems for crops and clean energy

Scientists discover how to reactivate cancer’s molecular “kill switch”

YouTube influencers: gaming’s best friend or worst enemy?

uOttawa scientists use light to unlock secret of atoms

NJIT mathematician to help map Earth's last frontier with Navy grant

NASA atmospheric wave-studying mission releases data from first 3,000 orbits

‘Microlightning’ in water droplets may have sparked life on Earth

Smoke from wildland-urban interface fires more deadly than remote wildfires

What’s your body really worth? New AI model reveals your true biological age from 5 drops of blood

Protein accidentally lassos itself, helping explain unusual refolding behavior

With bird flu in raw milk, many in U.S. still do not know risks of consuming it

University of Minnesota research team awarded $3.8 million grant to develop cell therapy to combat Alzheimer’s disease

UConn uncovers new clue on what is leading to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS

Resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest – it’s how quickly it is done, rather than who does it

A closer look at biomolecular ‘silly putty’

Oxytocin system of breastfeeding affected in mothers with postnatal depression

Liquid metal-enabled synergetic cooling and charging: a leap forward for electric vehicles

[Press-News.org] New research explores the red v. blue state knowledge about abortion