Analysis of the Change in Attitudes on Abortion. A quantitative Vignette Study

Due to the current lively public debate caused by a governmental plan to decriminalise abortion by reforming § 218 of the German criminal code which prohibits abortion but grants impunity under certain conditions, it is of particular interest to examine the attitude formation and attitude changes regarding abortion. In our quantitative study, we survey whether and how a particularly disapproving group of people change their sceptical attitude when presented with a vignette and provided with further information depicting the living situation of an unintended pregnant woman. Our target group are men above the age of 40 who live in the western federal states of Germany because they are, according to the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS), most critical of abortions. Additionally, by analysing the ALLBUS regarding attitudes towards abortion, we can determine whether social debates and the resulting shifts in norms have an impact on the attitudes of the participants. 300 persons of the identified target group are questioned by means of a CATI survey. The aim of the vignette research is to find out whether and when there is a turning point in attitudes towards abortion. We ask the participants more generalized questions such as whether they feel well informed about the topic and whether they would want to keep the current legislation on abortion. Afterwards we randomly assign them to three thematically different vignettes (financial insecurity, eugenics and partner violence) to specify the turning points in opinion formation. Dissonance theory explains how individuals alter their attitudes in response to conflicting beliefs about a particular topic. This adjustment aims to alleviate the resulting tensions, prompting individuals to modify their attitudes. Our study’s design enables us to define turning points when participants’ attitudes change, ascertain the extent of this change, and explore whether subsequent information about the fictitious individual catalyzes further evolution or a potential regression back to their initial standpoint. Since there has been no vignette research on attitude changes towards abortion in Germany thus far, we can take a new and differentiated perspective on the topic and close a research gap.