THE QUALITY OF OBJECT RELATIONS IN ABORTION SEEKING, IN TELEO-CYESIS AND NEVER-PREGNANT ADOLESCENTS

The object relations of three groups of unwed adolescent women were examined and compared: primiparas who sought abortion, primiparas who opted for teleo-cyesis and never-pregnant sexually active girls. The difference in the perception of early love objects and relation to age appropriate objects was examined. A difference between the Teleo-cyesis and Never-Pregnant groups was predicted. Subjects were 45 white, non-Catholic, middle-to-upper class adolescents, 15 to 18 years of age. They were given: (1) a structured interview; (2) the Parent-Child Interaction Rating Scale-Nurturance; (3) The Parent-Child Interaction Rating Scale-Autonomy; and (4) the Affectional Orientation Questionnaire (Parents vs. Peers). The one-way ANOVA and Student's t-test for comparisons were used at p < .05 level of significance. The results indicated: (1) All adolescents had reached age appropriate object relations and perceived them to be of good quality. (2) The Never-Pregnant group perceived receiving more security from their mother then the other two groups. (3) All adolescents perceived themselves as autonomous and independent. (4) All adolescents felt closer to their friends than to their parents. In addition, the Never-Pregnant group felt closer to their fathers than to their mothers (F = 5.58, p < .05). (5) All adolescents considered themselves as the significant decision-makers for everyday life situations. The structured interview indicated that: The majority of the Teleo-cyesis and Abortion group adolescents decided on their own to abort or to carry to term. The majority of the Never-Pregnant group were influenced by a girlfriend to use birth control. There were more object losses through divorce for the Teleo-cyesis group. The parents of the latter group had a lower educational level and the adolescents' scholastic performance was lower than that of the Never-Pregnant group.