Desired, Expected, and Received Support: How Support Gaps Impact Affect Improvement and Perceived Stigma in the Context of Unintended Pregnancy

ABSTRACT

Unintended pregnancies constitute potentially stigmatizing moments that mobilize desires for several types of support from multiple members of people’s networks. This study examines gaps among the support people desire, expect, and receive when coping with an unintended pregnancy. The support gaps people experience can influence their feelings about the pregnancy and their perceptions of stigma surrounding it. People (N = 203) who recently experienced an unintended pregnancy reported in an online survey the supportive communication they experienced from their romantic partner, mother/maternal figure, and close friend at the time of the unintended pregnancy. People experienced gaps among the amounts of support they desired, expected, and received, and the nature of gaps varied by the provider and type of support under consideration. Males and females perceived different gaps that varied according to their roles associated with an unintended pregnancy. The gaps people experienced contributed to their perceptions of stigma and affect improvement surrounding the pregnancy.

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Notes on contributors

Jenny L. Crowley

Jenny L. Crowley (PhD, The University of Iowa) is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at the University of Tennessee; Andrew C. High (PhD, The Pennsylvania State University) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Pennsylvania State University; Lindsey J. Thomas (PhD, The University of Iowa) is an assistant professor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University.