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Man's involvement in the experience of abortion and the dynamics of the couple's relationship: a clinical study

Objectives To investigate the way men experience abortion from a psychodynamic perspective in order to understand better the impact of this experience on their own image as men and on the couple's relationship. Methods In-depth semi-structured interviews with 16 men in Belgium and 14 men in Greece. Results Intrapsychic factors seem to play for men an important role in their experience of abortion, whatever their cultural context and contraceptive practices. Two-thirds of the men who agreed to participate in the research disagreed with their partner's decision to have an abortion. Such men may feel that it is impossible for them to fulfill themselves, in particular as potential fathers. This impossibility is, according to men, linked to women's attitudes, but may also be related to their own difficult identification with parental images and to socio-professional concerns. Conclusions Abortion can create tensions and/or conflicts between partners by revealing their contradictory desires. It is suggested that institutions where men and women are heard can help both partners to outlive this experience as a constructive step in their personal psychosocial evolution and in their relationship.