Attitude to Abortion, Attitude to Life and Conservatism in Australia

  • A major claim of opponents to abortion is that they are >prolife.< The validity of this claim is assessed in an investigation of attitudes to abortion, utilizing a questionnaire developed by Michael Maccoby to operationalize Erich FROMM's concept of >biophilia< (The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, New York: Holt Rinehart, 1973). A modified form of Maccoby's questionnaire was developed, and also a scale of conservatism specifically designed for Australian conditions. These questionnaires and others on attitudes toward and social desirability of abortion were completed by a random cluster sample of 200 residents of Sydney. Antiabortionists were highly likely to be conservative and slightly likely to be prolife after the effects of conservatism were partialled out; they were also more likely to be Roman Catholics and frequent church attenders. Approval for abortion was high on all questions; only 16 percent of the sample both opposed unrestricted abortion and said the matter would have an important bearing on their vote. 1 Appendix, 14 References.

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Metadaten
Author:J. J. Ray
Parent Title (English):Sociology and Social Research, Vol. 68 (No. 2, Jan. 1984), pp. 236-246.
Document Type:Articles
Language:English
Year of first Publication:1984
Release Date:2014/01/28
Format:PDF-scan to download
IdNo:Ray_J_J_1984
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Articles / Artikel
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Articles / Artikel
Licence (German):
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